Silent Heart
by Krayzee Aussie
Summary: When Captain America headed to Azzano to bring back the 107th, Peggy insisted he take one of their's with him. She was special, that's what all of the SSR said. She didn't see herself that way, she was a monster. But that's all about perspective, isn't it? Starts in CA:TFA, will possibly continue through other MCU.
1. Introductions

**Well, Hi there.**

 **So I got randomly bored one day, and I was playing one of the multitude of Otome apps and had a brainwave. This is the result.**

 **For those that may have followed me over here from my Avenger fics 'The First' and 'Forgotten' don't worry, I'll be continuing them. Maybe in March or May, but they'll happen...how can they not?**

 **This is just a little something to ease the writer's block occasionally and give me a fresh perspective to play with.**

 **As always, don't own marvel or anything associated with it, but Sarah Jones is all mine...**

 **Enjoy**

 **xo**

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

 **Introductions**

Lieutenant Jones stood with her arms crossed as she watched the show girls dancing on the stage from underneath a tent across the depot, whistles of the hundred or so men watching them drowning out the sounds of their singing. She pressed her lips into a thin line, the slightest of grimaces on her face. Through all her years, she had never seen such an act of vulgarity in her life. The short skirts with high kicks. Perhaps it was her upbringing too, but maybe she would never get used to the way these westerners did things.

Still, she understood why the USO was here. The soldiers around here really needed the morale boost. They were basic animals, these males. She, herself, had been on the receiving end of more than enough catcalls and leers from the soldiers. Although, they were soon put in their place, much to Colonel Phillips' great pleasure. Her last run in with an unsuspecting soldier had her smirk slightly as she remembered it. She heard familiar footsteps enter the tent from the other side and didn't bother turning around as a familiar scent wafted to her nose.

"Dare I ask, are you actually enjoying this?" came the alluring British accent of the only female colleague in her unit. The brunette stopped beside her, an elegant eyebrow raised expectantly.

"Not at all, quite the contrary actually, but I'm reminding myself that they're taking the heat of us with these animals," Jones replied, motioning with a hand towards the crowds of troops.

Peggy Carter smiled back at her, her red lips contrasting with her fair skin as she grinned. "Well, when you put it that way, perhaps I can enjoy it too." They both looked back towards the stage, leaning against the centre tent pole. "Has he been on yet?"

"Who?"

"Captain America, Sarah, the star of the show?"

"Oh, the guy in tights? Not yet," Jones replied with a slight shake of her head. Peggy had already told her about the star of the show. And she had been read into his file when she joined SSR, but he was a showpony at best. Untested.

"He's not the man that the show portrays, Sarah," Peggy muttered, watching as the show girls bowed and took their leave of the stage.

"He's a lab rat at best, an untested one at that." Peggy sighed beside her, but didn't respond. "I'm sure his hearts in the right place, but what good is one super soldier?"

Peggy raised an eyebrow at Jones pointedly. "Well, if you want to get technical…"

"I don't fight."

"You could."

"It's not a pretty thing, it's monstrous," Jones replied darkly, not taking her eyes off the stage. "I'm monstrous."

Peggy looked at her sympathetically, but didn't say anything. Even if she had, Jones wouldn't have paid any attention. The English spy had never seen her in full monster mode, she had no idea what she was capable of.

Finally, a tall, well built man, wearing a tight fitting costume of blue and white with a shield stepped out onto the stage. Jones did her best not to laugh out loud and heard the unmistakable groan from Peggy beside her.

So this was 'Captain America' the nations great hero. Bond sales were up thanks to this guy, but that's about all he was good for currently. She watched as he nervously tried to get through his lines, but the soldiers continued to heckle him. Eventually, they began bombarding the stage with whatever they could find close at hand, tomatoes, rocks, even the toilet paper wasn't safe. He made a run for backstage, and the show girls returned, to an uproar of applause and cat calls.

Jones shook her head in disgust. "Men."

"Come on, I'll introduce you," Peggy said as she began to walk towards the backstage area.

"Why?"

"You never know, you two might actually have to work together one day," Peggy replied as Jones caught up in a couple of strides. Peggy was much shorter than Jones, but what she lacked in height, she made up for in confidence and toughness. Which was why Jones had a lot of respect for her, and why they seemed to make such good friends.

Jones had only come into the unit in the last six months, after being in the US for a few years. She thought she might have gotten herself in strife, getting caught out letting her guard down and then being dragged into a high security military unit. As it turns out, it wasn't the worst thing to ever happen to her.

As they crossed the depot, the heavens opened up, rain pouring down on top of them, but neither let it bother them as they entered the backstage area. Peggy looked around for a moment while Jones wrinkled her nose, the smells around overcoming her senses and giving her a headache. The heavy use of hairspray and perfume overwhelmed her senses and she thought she might puke, but was quick to swallow the urge.

"There he is." Peggy began walking towards the stage entrance. There, sitting on the stairs to the stage was Steve Rogers. He was currently unmasked, a sketch book and pencil in hand, leaning against his knee as his hand moved with grace along the paper.

They stopped in front of him, but he still didn't look up, completely engrossed in his work.

"Hello, Steve," Peggy greeted. Jones could practically hear the smile in her colleague's voice. It was warm and welcoming.

The blonde's head jerked up in surprise and looked straight at Peggy, recognition spreading across his face. His heart rate picked up dramatically, making Jones have to work extremely hard to make her face expressionless. "Hi."

"Hi," Peggy replied, her smile getting bigger if possible. Jones looked between the two, a smirk spreading across her lips, feeling like somewhat of a third wheel currently. She coughed slightly, catching Peggy's attention. "Oh, this is my colleague, Lieutenant Sarah Jones."

Steve stood up, offering his hand to Sarah, but she didn't take it, holding an expressionless face instead. "Charmed, I'm sure."

Steve hesitated for a moment, before nodding towards the Lieutenant. His attention turned back to Peggy. "What are you doing here?"

"Officially, we are not here at all," Peggy replied. "That was quite a performance."

Steve grimaced and Jones suddenly felt sorry for him. She saw his posture change as he sat back down and sighed. He didn't want to be doing this, being a lackie for the USO. "Yeah, I had to improvise a bit. The crowds I'm used are usually, uh…twelve."

Jones couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Don't worry, buddy, these guys are assholes at the best of times."

Steve raised an eyebrow at that, but Peggy shook her head in response. That was a story for another day, evidently. "I understand you're 'America's New Hope'."

"Bond sales take a ten percent bump in every state I visit," Steve replied almost automatically. Jones scoffed, turning slightly and leaning against a rack of helmets with large letters printed on the front.

"Is that Senator Brandt, I hear?" Peggy teased, a smirk showing on her face.

"At least he's got me doing this, Colonel Phillips would have had me stuck in a lab," Steve huffed indignantly, causing Jones to look at him with wide eyes. His heart rate had jumped slightly at the mention of the Colonel. The thought of the Colonel made the man angry it seemed. Jones analysed him for a moment, his heart rate settled again as he ran his hand through his hair.

"Are these the only two options? A lab rat or a dancing monkey?" Peggy looked pointedly at Steve, who sighed in response. "You were meant for more than this, you know?" Steve looked up at her, as if to reply, but said nothing, looking away instead. Peggy noticed it too. "What?"

"You know, for the longest time, I dreamed about coming overseas and being on the front lines. Serving my country. I finally get everything I wanted, and I'm wearing tights." Peggy and Jones shared a look, Peggy looking sympathetic, even apologetic to a degree. Jones understood, she felt partially responsible for him being tossed aside. Peggy had told her all about the procedure and aftermath of Steve Rogers. If it weren't for her own upbringing and experiences, she might have felt squeamish about it.

There was the sound of a horn outside, and they all turned to look out the front of the stage, seeing an ambulance rushing through the depot, several soldiers being unloaded on stretches and hurried into the medical tent.

Jones was hit with the familiar scent of blood, and a lot of it. She wrinkled her nose and chewed the inside of her lip slightly, fighting to keep her instincts at bay.

"They look like they've been through hell," Steve commented.

Jones formed a fist with her right hand, a force of habit, not taking her eyes off the medical tent and listening intently for any request for help. "These men more than most. Schmidt sent out a force to Azzano. Two hundred men went up against him and less than fifty returned. You audience contained what was left of the 107th. The rest were either captured or killed."

* * *

Steve stared at the woman for a moment, trying to fully comprehend what she had just said. Her head snapped back to look at him, her eyes seeming to focus on his chest, not his face for some reason. The woman was tall, almost as tall as him, but with exotic Asian features that he really wasn't used to seeing. Strangely, her skin appeared to have a faintly pale appearance that didn't quite match her features, her black hair standing out against her skin. While her face had shown next to no emotion since she had entered the tent, now her features were etched in concern as she stared at him for some reason. His mind was too preoccupied to dwell on it.

"The 107th?" he breathed.

Peggy looked at him in concern. "What?"

He stood up quickly and made a run from the tent, Jones and Peggy quick to follow him out. "Come on!"

Steve hurried into the tent Peggy directed him to, seeing Colonel Phillips seated at a desk, a helmet on his head as he wrote. "Colonel Phillips!"

The harried looking man looked up, a disgruntled expression appearing on his face. He looked back down to his paperwork as Steve hurried towards the desk. "Well, if it isn't the star-spangled man with a plan. And what is your plan today?"

Steve stopped in front of him, the two women drawing up beside him. "I need the casualty list from Azzano."

Colonel Phillips looked up sharply at Steve, but he didn't back down, all thoughts on only one thing. Bucky. He knew Bucky had left to serve with the 107th before he himself had joined the SSR. He just hoped he had either been transferred or made it back with the few who had escaped. "You don't give me orders, son," Phillips retorted sternly.

"I just need one name, sir. Sergeant James Barnes from the 107th."

Phillips looked at the two women and pointed. "You two and I are going to have a conversation later which you will not enjoy." Peggy's face remained impartial while Jones grimaced slightly. He reached for the pile of papers in front of him, shuffling them slightly before responding.

"Please tell me if he's alive, sir. B-A-R-" Steve continued, getting impatient at the Colonel's stalling.

"I can spell," he retorted stiffly, before sighing and laying down the papers. "I have signed more of these condolence letters than I would care to count, but that name does sound familiar. I'm sorry."

Steve took a moment to let the Colonel's words sink in, before his next thought came out of his mouth before he could fully finish considering it. "What about the others? Are you planning a rescue mission?"

Colonel Phillips looked at him with a dumbstruck expression before answering. "Yeah! It's called winning the war!"

"But if you know where they are, why not-"

Colonel Phillips stood up, his expression showing he had just about enough of being badgered. "They're thirty miles behind the lines. Through the most heavily fortified territory in Europe. We'd lost more men than we'd save." The Colonel moved around the desk to stand in front of Steve, putting his hands on his hips as he pinned the blonde with challenging glare. "But I don't expect you to understand that, because you're a chorus girl."

Steve felt his blood begin to boil. He glared back at the Colonel. "I think I understand just fine." He felt a hand grab his elbow, and strangely, even through the coat he wore over his costume, he could feel the coolness of the touch and looked down in surprise. He saw the hand belonged to Peggy's colleague, her face completely void of any expression as she looked across at him. He felt his anger beginning to dissipate and his heart rate slowing down again as his anger subsided.

The Colonel looked down at his own arm, drawing Steve's attention too. She also had her hand on his arm too, her eyes moving between the two, but no emotion appearing on her face at all. "Gentleman…"

The Colonel seemed to acknowledge her, before looking back at Steve and removing his arm from her grasp. She dropped her hand from Steve's arm, although the cool feeling still seemed to remain behind. "Well then, understand it somewhere else." He turned and began to walk away, and Steve took note of the map stretched out on the table, a lone flag catching his attention. "If I read the posters correctly, you got some place to be in 30 minutes."

"Yes, sir, I do." With that, Steve turned and walked away.

Steve hurried back to the backstage tent, beginning to throw things into a pack. He was going to have a fair hike into enemy territory, but he knew to only take the bare essentials. He began to change into a pair of fatigues and a leather jacket that was lying around.

His gut was telling him that Bucky was still out there, but at the very least he had to try and save those captured by Schmidt. He couldn't just leave them.

Peggy hurried into the tent, watching him for a moment before speaking. "What do you plan to do? Walk to Austria?"

Steve didn't stop packing. "If that's what it takes."

Peggy sighed, shaking her head and folding her arms across her chest. "You heard the Colonel; your friend is most likely dead."

Steve pinned her with a stern look. "You don't know that."

Peggy swallowed, before sighing in resignation. "Even so, he's devising a strategy. If he detects…"

He finally broke. "By the time he's done that, it could be too late!" Finally finished packing and picking up one of the showgirl's helmets featuring an 'A' on the front, he hurried outside to a jeep. He threw his gear inside before he climbed inside and looked back at her. She was staring back at him sadly. "You told me you thought I was meant for more than this. Did you mean that?"

She raised her eyebrows slightly before nodding. "Every word."

"Then you got to let me go."

She stared at him for a moment, and for a second, he thought she might still try and stop him. To his surprise, she smirked slightly, before moving towards the jeep. "I can do more than that."

* * *

Jones glared at Steve before looking at Peggy. "Are you actually insane?"

"Look, he's going to do it either way," Peggy explained moving towards her friend and colleague.

"Then why are you coming to me? Send him on his suicide mission, why tell me? So I can tell Phillips for you? I'd rather not have that conversation," Jones retorted backing away.

"I'm inclined to agree with her," Steve replied slowly. "Why are we here?"

Peggy didn't take her eyes off her colleague. "Because Sarah here, is special," she replied, looking pointedly at the Lieutenant.

"Oh no, she isn't!" Jones argued stepping back.

"You always complain that you'd rather be helping them out on the front lines, rather than patching them up when they get back. And I KNOW you can handle yourself and everyone around you," Peggy implored, raising her eyebrows pointedly at her sister in arms.

The taller women pressed her lips into a thin line. "But if I…"

"You won't, and if you do, I know you'll only direct it at those who deserve it," Peggy answered soothingly.

Jones was well aware of Steve's curious attention, she could read it in his baby blue eyes and his posture. This was going to be a fun conversation, when it happened. And it was definitely going to happen.

She was distracted, listening to his heart beat steadily, showing no sign of fear, when Peggy finally caught her arms in her hands, causing her to freeze and glare at the brunette. "Come on, Sarah, you know you want to help people. You can help Steve bring home those left of the 107th for their families."

She grimaced. That damn Englishwoman always knew which buttons to push to get what she wanted. She sighed and gave the slightest of nods, conceding defeat. She just hoped it wouldn't end badly for everyone involved.

* * *

 **xo**

 **Krayzee**


	2. Krausberg

**I'm on a roll, however, I realise that two characters have the same last name here. I'm hoping its not going to get too confusing. It should be pretty obvious who is being spoken about anyway.**

 **Enjoy**

 **xo**

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

 **Krausberg**

Steve, Peggy and Jones sat in the back of the plane being piloted by Howard Stark. It was Steve's first time seeing Stark since the procedure with Dr Erskine, although he was somewhat too distracted to spend any time catching up with the scientist.

Across from him, Peggy and Jones sat, Jones looking at nothing but the ground. She wore all black including black gloves, a long black coat that seemed far too big for her, with her long black hair tied back into a braid that flowed down her right shoulder. She wore no helmet or protective headwear. He couldn't help but wonder if she felt as nervous as he did. He had never done any frontline fighting, but considering she was a woman, it had to be twice as bad for her. From what he could figure from the conversation she had with Peggy in her tent, she was a medic. He had his reservations about taking her with him into Krausberg, but Peggy was insistent, and even Howard seemed keen for her to go too.

"Hey," he said, drawing her attention to him. She glanced up, and for the first time he noticed the colour of her eyes as the overhead lights of the aircraft cabin caught her face. They were a very deep brown, but there seemed to be a slight red tinge to them, just at the edges. He hadn't noticed it before. "You going to be okay?"

"I'm fine," she replied quietly, before looking back to the ground. He noticed her hands forming into fists. He glanced at Peggy with concern.

She smiled at him, giving a small nod. Clearly, she thought her comrade was fine, so he thought it best to have the same confidence as Peggy. The British SSR agent leaned forward and began to brief Steve, a map in her hands. "The HYDRA camp is in Krausberg, tucked between these two mountain ranges. It's a factory of some kind." Steve began putting on his parachute, adjusting the straps.

"We should be able to drop you right on the doorstep," Stark interrupted as he wrestled with the aircraft amid some mild turbulence. "How's that air sickness, Jonesy?"

"Shut up, Stark," the dark-haired woman responded closing her eyes slightly. Steve raised his eyebrows in surprise. Is that what was wrong with her? Stark chuckled in response.

"Just get me as close as you can," Steve replied to Stark, before looking back to Peggy. "You know, you three are gonna be in a lot of trouble at the lab."

"And you won't?"

"I'm always in trouble," Jones spoke up, drawing Steve's attention back to her. She met his gaze with an expressionless face. "It's just the depth that varies." Peggy giggled slightly, while Steve couldn't help but give a small smile to Jones, although she didn't reciprocate.

"Where I'm goin', if anybody yells at me, I can just shoot 'em," Steve replied to Peggy, grinning.

"They will undoubtedly shoot back."

"Well, let's hope it's good for somethin'," Steve answered, knocking on his shield.

"I can't believe you brought that thing," Jones murmured, with a shake of her head as she began to fiddle with the buckles on her boot. Steve chuckled. He couldn't believe he'd brought it himself, but it seemed like such a natural thing now, to carry it everywhere.

"Agent Carter, if we're not in too much of a hurry I thought we could stop off in Lucerne for a late-night fondue," Stark called back into the cabin. Steve looked from Stark to Peggy, also noticing Jones seemed to roll her eyes.

Peggy looked awkwardly from Stark to Steve, before giving a small and seemingly uncomfortable smile. "Stark is the best civilian pilot I've ever seen. He's mad enough to brave this airspace, we're lucky to have him."

"So, are you two…? Do you…? Fondue?"

Before either could speak again, Jones stood up and walked unsteadily towards the cockpit, slapping Stark on the arm.

"OW!" he exclaimed. "No attacking the pilot!"

Peggy, ignoring Steve's previous rambling handed a small device to Steve. "This is your transponder. Activate it when you're ready and the signal will lead us straight to you."

"Are you sure this thing works?" he asked skeptically, looking the small device over. It was smaller than his hand.

"It's been tested more than you, pal," Stark retorted past Jones as she looked through the cockpit door out into the night sky.

Suddenly, the plane lurched sideways as they were targeted by anti-aircraft shells from the ground. Steve shot to his feet and headed for the door, adjusting his parachute and ensuring it was secure.

"Get back here! We're taking you all the way in," Peggy shouted.

"As soon as I'm free, you turn this thing around and get the hell outta here!" he shouted back, although more so to Stark than to Peggy. He saw Jones lean in the door, hoping she was relaying the message to Stark. She turned back to face him with a nod.

"You can't give us orders!" Peggy retorted angrily, a look of disbelief on her face as Steve backed towards the door.

"The hell I can't! I'm a Captain!" He looked at her and grinned, before nodding to Jones and diving out the door into the darkness of the night sky.

* * *

Steve landed heavily, quickly pulling his parachute down and slipping from the harness. He ducked into the darkness of the woods, looking around to get his bearings quickly. He pulled the compass from the pocket in his fatigue pants, checking to see which direction he needed to move.

Once he was certain he was facing the right direction, he had another quick look around, trying to see if he could spot Lieutenant Jones anywhere. He couldn't, and then he recalled, he hadn't seen her wearing a parachute harness either.

He furrowed his brow slightly. "Was she ever planning on coming?" he murmured to himself, before picking his shield up from the ground.

"Was who planning on coming?" came a quiet voice from beside him. He jumped in alarm, turning to see the expressionless Asian leaning against the same tree he was hiding behind. She seemed to glance down at his chest, before her focus returned to his face. "Quiet, Captain, someone might hear you coming."

Her voice had a strange chill to it, and it put him on edge. He glanced sideways at her. "How did you find me?" he asked, looking around for her parachute, not spotting it anywhere.

"I have my skill set, Captain. I'm told it's quite uncanny," she answered bluntly, glancing around their surroundings, she raised her head slightly, seeming to be sniffing the air. "Shall we? We need to go this way." She began walking through the trees without so much as a look back at Steve, her black trench coat billowing along behind her.

They ran through the woods for about an hour, ducking out of sight on Jones' word. Steve couldn't quite figure out how she knew, but she seemed to be able to tell when they were close to passing patrols. As they neared a road, she pulled him into a ditch on the side of a road, hissing at him to keep quiet.

He watched in awe as a convoy of trucks rumbled down the road. "Quick, let's jump on it," he said hurrying to his feet and running for the nearest one.

"Not that one!" he heard Jones hiss, just as he leapt into the back.

As he landed, he came face to face with two HYDRA guards. Just his luck. "Fellas." They both lunged at him at the same time, but neither managing to get a hand on him, as they were forced back just as quickly as they moved towards Steve. Jones pulled them backwards, before smashing them together like they were nothing but dolls in her hands. They both fell to the ground in a heap, groaning in pain. Before Steve could say anything, she took off her gloves, reached down to both guards and touched the exposed skin at their necks. " _SLEEP."_ She spoke in another language, he recognized it as German. The groaning stopped and both guards lay still.

"Impressive." Steve murmured, eyeing her as she stood up again, replacing her gloves. "Where did you say you were from again?"

"I didn't," she answered curtly, avoiding making eye contact. She looked carefully out the back of the truck. "This should take us straight through the front gate, but once we're inside we will have to be careful."

"Sounds like this isn't your first time, I thought you were a medic?" Steve pried again. Her skills were far too uncanny to be just that of a medic.

"I've been many things in my time, Captain Rogers," she answered quietly, moving to sit down. She didn't enlighten him, though, preferring to watch through the gap in the canvas of the truck.

The trucks soon stopped, Jones motioning for him to keep quiet and move further into the back of the truck. There was a bang as the driver's door shut and Steve could hear the crunch of gravel under foot, the driver making his way towards the back of the truck. His heart rate began to increase, and he held his breath slightly, in the hopes the driver might continue on his way.

He didn't. He pulled open the flap of the truck and peered in, his surprise evident when he saw Steve, but Jones was quick to grab him, reefing him inside the truck and subduing him with a punch to the head. She watched him for a moment, before looking to Steve and giving a nod, seemingly satisfied that the man wasn't going to get up, then disappeared out the back of the truck. Steve was quick to follow.

They made their way through the depot, careful to stay out of sight as they made their way into the factory. Every now and then, it seemed like Jones would disappear from his side, but then she would reappear on his other side just as quickly. He figured she was just really good at keeping out of sight. They stopped and watched as some guards marched POWs into the factory. They were quick to follow, doing their best to avoid the search lights that flashed bright light across the depot ground.

Soon, they found their way inside the factory floor, subduing a few guards here and there. They began searching their latest victims.

"What is this?" he murmured, picking up a canister which seemed to contain a strange substance that glowed a bright and unnatural blue.

"They appear to be weapons," Jones commented, also picking up a weapon. "Like nothing I've ever seen before," she added running her finger along the shiny metal of what appeared to be a gun.

Steve dropped the canister in his pocket, causing Jones to raise her eyebrows in surprise. "They'll want to look at this back at the lab."

"Indeed, they would. This too," she replied, motioning at the gun. She slipped it into the back of her pants, under her trench coat, before glancing around. "Who knows, could come in handy if I can figure out how to use it."

They looked around the factory floor. "Where to?" Steve asked, considering their surroundings. He'd never set foot inside a factory of this size. He had no idea where to begin looking for prisoners of war. This was all very, very new to him.

Jones on the other hand, looked around for a moment, seeming to be listening. He noted she was generally void of any expressions on her face, but he spotted the slightest twitch in her brow before she looked towards a hallway to their right. "This way."

* * *

A warden walked above the cages that contained the prisoners of war, a truncheon strapped to his hip. Down below, another warden also walked, eyeing the cages of prisoners with contempt. The prisoners reclined as best they could in their cells, barely enough room for each to sit in a tiny space, exhausted and hungry. Dum Dum Dugan and Gabe Jones were from the same section and were lucky enough to be locked into the same cage today. Dugan groaned as he tried to recover from being knocked about by a guard earlier in the evening.

The warden walking above the cage passed out of sight, before the sound of something hard hitting bone could be heard, and the warden's body fell backwards on top of the cage. All the prisoner's looked up in surprise, as someone landed heavily on top of the cage, looking down on them.

"Hi," he greeted them all, slightly breathless. The prisoners looked up at him in stunned silence, eyeing him up and down, particularly at the shield he carried. It was painted blue, white and red, and beneath a leather jacket his top also bore the same colour and stripes. They began looking at one another, excited murmurs began to pass throughout the cages as prisoners began to stir from their exhausted stupor at the prospect of being rescued.

"And who the hell are you supposed to be?" Jones demanded, staring up at him in awe.

Their apparent savior began to search through the warden's pockets for the keys. "I'm…Captain America."

The prisoners looked at each other and the excitement began to die down.

"I beg your pardon?" a British POW by the name of James Falsworth exclaimed from the silence.

" _Merde,"_ a French prisoner, who they only knew by Dernier, murmured, a look of dismay on his face. There was a crunching sound as a body flew from one end of the hallway of cages to the other, drawing all the prisoners' attention from Captain America, the other warden falling into a still heap on the floor.

"Really, is such language necessary?" a feminine voice asked from the door of the cage that Captain America was currently standing on. All the prisoners were stunned to see a woman dressed all in black standing there, her pale skin shining in the poor lighting of the room, her striking Asian features, although expressionless, standing out. She looked up at Captain America. "Keys, if you please?"

He finally found them, tossing them down to the waiting woman. The prisoners stared at her in awe as she easily unlocked the door, swinging it open and moving onto the next one, her black trench coat billowing out behind her as she moved, without a second thought. Captain America soon joined her, unlocking more cages as she stopped to assist with the injured quickly.

As they followed Captain America, Dum Dum Dugan looked to his left and noticed an Asian man standing beside him. "What, are we taking everybody?" he asked, looking to Captain America.

The Asian man, named Jim Morita, looked back at him with an appalled expression. "I'm from Fresno, Ace," he said, his strong American accent making itself very obvious.

Dugan looked taken aback, before looking back to the woman, who was also of Asian appearance, and was now helping the last of the prisoners out of the cages. "I could get used to it."

She narrowed her eyes at him, before turning to look at Captain America, drawing the other prisoners' attention to him. He appeared to be searching for someone, scanning the faces of all the now freed prisoners. "Captain?" she asked, handing off a weak prisoner to one of his stronger comrades.

"Are there any others?" he demanded of the group. "I'm looking for a Sergeant James Barnes."

James Falsworth spoke up. "There's an isolation ward in the factory, but no one has ever come back from it."

Captain America seemed to consider the information for a moment, before looking to the woman who accompanied him, beginning to pull weapons from his pockets and handing them around. "The tree line's northwest, about 80 yards from the gate. From there, just follow the creek bed. I'll meet you in the clearing with anybody I find inside."

She seemed to glare at him slightly, although it was hard to tell as her expression didn't seem to change much. "I know how to get out of here, although I don't know why you're telling me this, my orders were to accompany you."

"Your orders were to help these men," Captain America began to argue, but the woman didn't back down.

"Incorrect, Captain. My orders from Agent Carter, were to ensure you and these men escaped this factory and returned to camp for debriefing in good time," she responded without so much as a hint of any emotion to her voice. It was unnerving to watch. She removed weapons from her pockets and back, handing a gun to Morita and grenades to Dugan. "You heard the Captain. We will meet you outside, if possible, take any tech you can get your hands on for further analysis by SSR."

The two soldiers looked at the weapons in their hands, then at each other, before looking back to the woman. "Yes, ma'am."

She gave a curt nod before looking to Falsworth. "Which way to the Isolation Ward?" He pointed out a door at the opposite end of the hall of cages. "Thank you." She made her way past the Captain towards the door.

" _Sensationnel!"_ Dernier murmured watching her in awe.

"You can say that again," Jones replied, being the only other person within earshot who understood French, as Captain America hurried after his female counterpart. "Wait, you know what you're doing?" he shouted after them, dumbstruck as to why anyone would want to continue through the factory.

Captain America looked back over his shoulder as he followed after the woman. "Yeah, I've knocked out Adolf Hitler over two hundred times." The prisoners furrowed their brows, before glancing around at each other with confused expressions on their faces. Eventually, they turned and made haste out into the factory yard as they had been directed, taking on the HYDRA guards, picking off weapons from their subdued enemies as they went.

Dernier picked up a rather advanced looking rifle, looking it over quickly as Morita appeared beside him, also analysing the weapon in the Frenchman's hands. "You know how to use that thing?" he asked. The Frenchman's finger found the trigger, firing at a wall and blowing it apart, a few guards positioned around it being thrown into the air in the process. The American nodded, an impressed smirk appearing on his features as he nodded. "Okay."

Gabe Jones and Dum Dum Dugan fought their way into a HYDRA tank. Dugan took the driver's seat, looking at the controls in confusion as he realised everything was in German. "Heh, not exactly a Buick."

Jones looked over Dugan's shoulder at the writing on the control panel, before pointing towards a switch on the panel. "That one. _Zundung._ "

Dugan looked at the switch. "Zundung?"

Falsworth dropped into the tank, looking about at the two Americans. "Get this thing going, Dugan!" he shouted in exasperation.

Dugan flicked the switch, the tank roaring to life. "I didn't know you spoke German," he shouted back to Jones over the noise.

"Three semesters at Howards," Jones shouted back, looking through the scope for the main turret on the tank. He fired off a shot, blowing up a truck and some HYDRA troops in the process. "Switched to French, girls much cuter."

"Didn't ask for a resume," Dugan retorted, fighting to control the tank.

Outside, Dernier and Morita ran alongside the tank, calling out orders to the other prisoners as they made their escape and the alarm blared across the factory precinct, sounding the countdown to self-destruction. "Keep moving! Grab those grenades!" Morita shouts to his comrades as they continued out the gates, making their way to the rally point and freedom.

* * *

 **xo**

 **Krayzee**


	3. Faith

**Do not own anything Marvel related**

 **Enjoy**

 **xo**

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

 **Faith**

Steve hurried alongside Lieutenant Jones. He found it odd how easily she kept pace with him, and she didn't even appear to be putting in much effort when she did so.

They rounded the corner, stopping to get their bearings, Jones once again seeming to look about like she was searching for something invisible. Suddenly, she turned her attention to the other end of the hallway they were standing, her eyes narrowing.

Steve turned to look, at first seeing nothing ahead. That is, until a man of short stature and thick glasses ran into the hallway from a room, carrying a briefcase and files in his arms. He looked towards them in alarm, before turning and sprinting down the other end of the hallway, disappearing around the corner.

"That was Arnim Zola," Jones murmured, beginning to move. Steve knew the name, he was Schmidt's head scientist.

They slowly and carefully began making their way after him, but Jones slowed, almost stopping and her eyes narrowing.

"Come on, Jones."

"Shh." She looked around, her eyes seeming to search for something, and then she slowly began to move again, towards the room they had seen the man run out from. She turned, cocking her head to one side as she looked at the entrance and then lifted her head slightly, her eyes still roaming the surrounds. It was a very animalistic movement, and Steve would be lying if it didn't intrigue him and make him slightly nervous at the same time. "There's someone…something…"

It was then that he heard it.

"Sergeant. 32557…" the voice was weak but sounded familiar. She stepped through the door first, looking towards the end of the room. Steve was quick to follow, seeing someone strapped to a chair. He hurried towards them, moving to stand beside the chair.

"Bucky?" he looked him over. His eyes seemed slightly glazed over, his body disheveled and weak. "Oh my god." He began unbuckling him from the chair, ripping off the straps with ease.

"Is that…?"

"It's me. Its Steve," he answered the unfinished question, continuing to remove the straps from his friend. It pained him to see him in such shape, but he didn't have time to worry.

"Steve?" Bucky murmured.

"Come on." Steve tried to get Bucky to his feet, but he was weak, and slightly shocked.

"Steve." He helped him to sit up straighter, giving him a moment to get his bearings.

"I thought you were dead," Steve murmured, trying to get him to his feet.

"I thought you were smaller," Bucky replied, staring at him in disbelief as he became more coherent.

"Come on," Steve urged, trying to help his old friend to his feet again.

Suddenly, Steve felt like a cold wave had washed over him, and Jones seemed to appear from nothing but shadows on the other side of the chair. "I don't mean to hurry you, but we should really get moving."

Bucky jumped in surprise, before his eyes widened and he looked at Jones in shock. "Where did you come from?"

"Now, Captain," she urged, ignoring Bucky's question. Steve put Bucky's arm over his shoulder and took his weight, beginning to walk him out of the lab as Jones walked ahead, checking the hallway before hurrying ahead of them. Steve glanced at the wall of the lab, noticing a map positioned there with several different positions highlighted around Europe. When Jones gave him the signal he hurried out after her, lugging Bucky along with him.

Bucky still tried to look him over again as they hurried through the factory. "What happened to you?"

"I joined the Army." Jones led them through another hallway, continuing to keep an eye out for any guards that should happen to come their way, as an alarm began to sound throughout the factory.

"Schmidt has activated the factory's self-destruct protocol," she interpreted as the robotic voice droned on and on, not stopping at all as she continued to find the way out.

"Did it hurt?" Bucky asked as he still tried to take in the drastic changes his friend had undergone.

"A little," Steve admitted, as Bucky started to take some of his own weight again and jog slowly beside Steve.

"Is it permanent?" They ran down another corridor, coming out onto a gangway around the main floor of the factory.

"So far." They began to make their way around the catwalk, towards a gangway that crossed high above the floor of the factory. Below them, explosions and flames began to climb higher and higher towards them. Steve noticed that Jones appeared to flinch at every explosion, drawing back slightly as the flames licked at the bottom of the catwalk.

As they made for the gangway, they halted when they noticed two people appear on the other side. Steve recognized him from pictures shown to him back at SSR. It was Johann Schmidt. Jones skidded to a stop, seeming to hunch slightly, her arms poised beside her as if she was ready for a fight. Steve was quick to move, leaning Bucky against the railing and stepping forward, placing a hand against her shoulder and moving her aside so he could walk towards Schmidt who grinned menacingly we he saw him.

"Captain America! How exciting! I'm a great fan of your films. So, Dr. Erskine managed it after all. Not exactly an improvement, but still impressive." Steve ran forward, punching Schmidt in the face and sending him back a few steps with the effort.

"You've got no idea," Steve sneered, eyeing off the German scientist.

Johann Schmidt smirked, before standing up, seemingly not bothered by Steve's punch. "Haven't I?" He moved to hit Steve, but Steve managed to protect himself with his shield. They exchanged blows, blocking or throwing punches in turn and trying to outfight the other man, with neither seeming to come out on top. Soon, Schmidt's offsider, Zola ran to one side, pulling a lever, causing the gangway they were standing on to begin to retract to either side, separating them.

Schmidt grinned malevolently. "No matter what lies Erskine told you, you see I was his greatest success!" His face appears slightly warped from the heat of the fires below them and the fight with Steve. He reached up for his face, beginning to peel off the skin as if he was peeling a piece of fruit, revealing his Red Skull.

Bucky looked on in shock, glancing sideways at Jones, who for once seemed to bear some kind of emotion on her face, and it closely resembled disgust. Bucky looked back towards Steve who was now backing towards the pair. "You don't have one of those, do you?"

"You are deluded, Captain. You pretend to be a simple soldier, but in reality, you are just afraid to admit that we have left humanity behind. Unlike you, I embrace it proudly. Without fear!" Schmidt shouted across the factory to him, his once menacing grin even more menacing now as he had no skin to shape his lips. He began to walk away.

Steve glared back at the HYDRA scientist. "Then how come you're running?" Schmidt pays him no heed, disappearing through the doorway of an elevator, the doors closing behind him. "Come on," Steve said to the others, looking around for another escape route. "Let's go. Up."

They hurriedly climb the stairs until they reach a thin gantry that still stretched high over the factory floor that was now well engulfed. Below them, the fire raged much more fiercely, and the explosions rocked the catwalks with more power, causing everything to shake.

Steve looked from the gantry to Bucky and Jones. He noted the woman, although calm, her skin seemed almost pearlescent in the light from the flames and he wondered if the heat was beginning to affect her in anyway. "Let's go. One at a time. Jones, you first."

Jones glanced from him to the gantry and back again, before looking around the factory. He wasn't sure what she was looking for, but she finally seemed to give up with a look of resignation, the most expressive he had ever seen her. "Why me?"

"I'm just going to assume you're the lightest here," Steve replied without a second thought.

She shot a look from Steve to Bucky as if to make a point.

"Ladies first," Bucky replied, seeming to understand the point she was making. Steve could have sworn for a moment he saw her snarl at them, but the next second, she was making for the gantry, quickly running across without looking back, her feet carrying across the gantry with speed and perfect balance. Steve had to admit, he was impressed, he thought he'd have to give her more convincing than that.

Next, Bucky moved to cross. He was much slower than Jones, and as he was about halfway across, the gantry began to give way.

"MOVE!" Jones shouted to him, motioning for him to hurry. Bucky took heed of her warning, making the rest of the distance in about three steps. Steve was relieved when Jones caught him in her arms, almost effortlessly. Bucky seemed somewhat stunned, before turning back to look at the collapsed gantry in dismay.

Jones and Bucky moved back to the edge of the catwalk, looking around.

"Gotta be a rope or something!" Bucky shouted hopefully. Another catwalk below them collapsed into the flames below.

"Just go! Get out of here!" Steve shouted, waving them away. Jones frowned, glancing sideways at Bucky.

"No! Not without you!" Bucky shouted back, desperation sounding clearly in his voice.

Steve's eyes met with Jones, and it was like there was a sense of understanding between them. She pulled at one of the railings, easily ripping it from its place and tossing it aside, creating a gap for him to jump through. Bucky stared at her in awe, as she looked back at Steve.

He took a few steps back, gauging the distance between the catwalks, before making a running jump for the other side. Jones moved forward, one arm outstretched, the other, gripping tightly onto the remainder of the railing beside her. He felt her gloved hand catch his, and both began to fall, before suddenly they were both jolted to a stop. Jones gave a shout of pain as she took both their weight, holding them above the flames, dangling below the catwalk as the railing had bent slightly under his weight.

"Damn it, Captain."

"Sorry."

She began trying to hoist him high enough so he could reach the catwalk and pull himself up, Bucky doing what he could to help them both. They both crawled onto the catwalk, before all three hurried from the building and out into the cold night air.

* * *

Jones walked stiffly behind the column of soldiers they had just freed from the HYDRA camp, she knew some of these men, she had met some before they had departed for Azzano. Some glanced at her with strange looks. She knew why, they didn't recognize her out of uniform, or even in this state. What they did recognise was that she was a woman, and that she had done some impressive feats in front of them. Naturally, they were going to ask questions. She just hoped, they wouldn't ask her directly.

She continued to walk along, lost in her own thoughts when she noticed the column of troops slow and begin to split to either side of the road. They were taking a break. Fair enough, these men were probably operating on very little sleep, and even less sustaining food. She stopped, also moving towards a tree off to the side of the road, keeping an eye, and an ear, on their surroundings as she crouched at the base of the tree, leaning her back against it, but in a position so she could move quickly if needed.

She heard footsteps approach her, and a familiar scent wafted towards her nose, along with one that wasn't as familiar. She furrowed her brow slightly, before turning to look towards the approaching footsteps. As she suspected, it was Steve and his friend. Sergeant Barnes.

She eyed them both, considering their scents for a moment. She found it very interesting the similarities between them, she would need to bring that up with Peggy, at the very least. She couldn't quite place what it was, but it just wasn't right. She looked to the taller of the two men. "Captain."

"Lieutenant, I thought I would check in to see if you were alright. That was quite a catch you made back in the factory," Steve said, motioning to her shoulder.

She raised an eyebrow, noting the tone of concern in his voice was mingled with something else. Caution. She was careful to keep her face expressionless. "I'm quite alright, thank you."

"Really? Are you sure you wouldn't like one of us to take a look at it?" Sergeant Barnes replied smoothly, crouching down beside her, a grin appearing on his face as he looked at her. She slid her gaze towards him, analyzing him for a moment. His grin became wider and he raised his eyebrows at her, obviously meaning the gesture to be enticing.

She huffed slightly, before curling her top lip to show her displeasure. "I'm fine, thank you, Sergeant," she answered, careful to utilize his rank and ensure he realized that she outranked him.

Steve eyed her for a moment, seeming to think carefully about what he wanted to say. "Bucky, can you give me a moment with the Lieutenant?"

Barnes glanced between the two, before shrugging and standing again. "Sure. Ma'am." He saluted her, if you could call the movement he made a salute, before returning to mingle with the rest of the freed 107th.

Steve looked at her thoughtfully for a moment before speaking again. "I'd like you to be straight with me, are you enhanced like me?"

She raised an eyebrow and was unable to stop the crooked smile that appeared on her lips. "Like you?" she began, standing up slowly so she could look him easily in the eye. "No one is like you, Captain," even as she said that, she glanced back to where Sergeant Barnes was now chatting animatedly with his men in the 107th. She returned her gaze to his.

"I get the feeling Colonel Phillips doesn't just keep you around because you're good with treating wounds?" Steve pressed again.

"Maybe. Perhaps it's because of my cheery persona too," she replied flatly. Steve looked mildly annoyed at her response, not taking his eyes off her. "We should continue, Captain, daylight is approaching, and we wouldn't want to be too far from the camp when the sun is high in the sky, lest enemy forces might spot these men. You and I can only defend them so well on our own."

He considered her for a moment longer, before nodding in agreement, turning and calling out for the men to form up again. Jones let out a low breath, it was definitely going to be an interesting conversation, when it happened.

* * *

Inside his tent, Colonel Phillips was dictating yet another condolence letter. This letter truly annoyed him more than any other one he had written to date, not only the subject, but the fact that it was something he did not want to be doing first thing in the morning. The Corporal sat at the desk, typing away on the type writer.

"Senator Brandt, I regret to report that Captain Steven G. Rogers went missing behind enemy lines on the third. Aerial reconnaissance has proven unfruitful. As a result, I must declare Captain Rogers killed in action. Period."

Agent Carter walked in hesitantly, sighing as she came to a stop before the Colonel. "The last surveillance flight is back. No sign of activity."

Colonel Phillips looked up at Peggy, a stoic expression on his face, before he looked back to the Corporal. "Go get a cup of coffee, Corporal."

The Corporal stood up quickly, standing fast before the desk. "Yes, sir." He hurried from the tent without looking back, clearly sensing the Colonel's mood was deteriorating. Once the Corporal was gone, Colonel Phillips pinned Agent Carter with a withering look, but she remained steadfast, looking straight ahead.

"I can't touch Stark. He's rich and he's the Army's number one weapons contractor. You are neither one." He began moving towards her, his hands folded in front of him. "And if, by some mere miracle, Lieutenant Jones makes it back here thanks to her abilities, you can bet she will be right beside you."

"With respect, sir, I don't regret my actions. And I don't think Captain Rogers and Lieutenant Jones did either," Agent Carter responded.

Her response just annoyed the Colonel further. "What makes you think I give a damn about your opinions. I took a chance with you, Agent Carter. And now America's golden boy and my best medic is missing, and a lot of other good men are dead, cause you had a crush."

"It wasn't that. I had faith," Agent Carter replied calmly, now meeting the Colonel's gaze. There was a ghost of a faint smile on her face.

Colonel Phillips huffed, moving back towards his desk. "Well, I hope that's a big comfort to you when they shut this division down." He moved to sit down in his desk, removing his glasses and rubbing his eyes slightly. His job was on the line.

A soldier running past his tent, caught the Colonel's attention, and was soon followed by another and another. There was shouting coming from the camp entry. "What the hell's going on out there?" The Colonel and Agent Carter hurried to see what the commotion was about.

They forced their way to the front of a large gathering of soldiers gathering at the gate, shocked by what they saw approaching the camp gates.

"Look who it is!"

Leading a column of at least one hundred men, some riding atop a HYDRA tank, others carrying what appeared to be advanced weaponry, was Captain Steve Rogers. The gate was raised to allow the men entry into the camp, everyone staring at them in awe. Soldiers began to greet their comrades, their emotions overflowing as they obviously had thought they would never see them again.

Steve continued marching towards Colonel Phillips, stopping in front of him and offering him a crisp salute. "Some of these men need medical attention."

"Medic, we got wounded," a Corporal shouted immediately.

"Right over here!" The medics began to make their way towards the most obviously injured men.

Steve continued to look at Colonel Phillips with a knowing expression. "I'd like to surrender myself for disciplinary action."

Colonel Phillips pressed his lips into a thin line as he formulated a response to the super soldier. On one hand, he wouldn't mind ripping into him. On the other, the man got the job done. "That won't be necessary."

Steve clearly tried to refrain from smiling, but the slightest of smirks appeared on his face. "Yes, sir."

Colonel Phillips looked into the crowd of men, his eyes searching for familiar features. "Where is Lieutenant Jones?"

"Sir?" she said from beside him, looking at him with a deadpan expression.

He jumped in surprise, as did Agent Carter. "God damn it, Lieutenant, I've told you numerous times to stop doing that!" She didn't say anything in response but looked at the Colonel expectantly. He looked her over quickly, she seemed fine, although he noted the red tinge around her pupils seemed far more pronounced. "Get yourself seen to, Lieutenant, I'll have words with you later."

"Sir."

The Colonel turned to leave the group, noticing Agent Carter standing to the side, looking pleased. "Faith, huh?" he looked from Agent Carter to Steve, before shaking his head slightly and hurrying back to his tent to make a phone call back to Senator Brandt.

As he walked away, he heard a shout go up behind. "Let's hear it for Captain America!" There was a chorus of cheers, making Colonel Phillips smile.

* * *

 **xo**

 **Krayzee**


	4. Choices

**Chapter 4**

 **Choices**

* * *

Jones sat in her room inside the SSR headquarters, fiddling with a set of knives. She'd picked them up from an old friend in Japan, many years ago, long before she had decided to relocate to the US.

She had never had any need to use them since she had been gifted them, but she wondered if perhaps that was about to change.

The problem was, she didn't know whether she was ready to do that. She had been hiding in plain sight for so long, the thought of more than a handful of people knowing what she was, what she had done and how long she had been doing it, made her very nervous. Sure, times were changing once again, but she wasn't sure if they were changing THAT much yet.

She replaced one of the throwing knives back into its holster, admiring it one more time, before carefully putting it away. And not a moment too soon. There was a knock on the door. Jones took a minute, listening and waiting for a hint of the scent of the owner on the other side of the door.

"Sarah?" It was Peggy.

Jones stood and opened the door. She was surprised to see Peggy wearing a very fitted red dress. It was conservative, but certainly showed her curves off well. She raised her eyebrows and pinned Peggy with an expectant look. "Good evening."

"I was hoping you would join me down at the bar this evening, I need to speak with Captain Rogers, and I believe he wants to speak to you too," Peggy said, looking at Jones hopefully.

The taller woman sighed. There it was. After Krausberg, she knew it had to be coming eventually. "I don't think that's a good idea, Peggy." Jones turned and walked back towards her desk, sitting down on her chair.

Peggy walked into her room, standing in front of her with an encouraging smile. "Come on, you did great at Krausberg, all the men are in awe of you."

"You say awe, I say afraid."

"Don't be daft, you're their hero."

"Steve's their hero."

"Steve needs help. He's putting together a team-"

"I got the memo," Jones quickly cut in, holding up her hand. Colonel Phillips had already been on her case about it. She leaned her elbow on her desk, resting her chin in her hand. "It's just not easy, Peggy. So few know, it's just safer that way. And it's not something that's easy to hide."

"You won't need to. You're not like the others. And we will do whatever we can to help you, you know that," Peggy implored.

Jones didn't meet her gaze. "I'll think about it. You need to know, I'm not comfortable with this."

Peggy looked at her sympathetically. "I know, but you need to make the best out of what you've got."

"I'm cursed, Peggy. There's not meant to be a good side to it."

"Depends how you look at it," Peggy said squeezing Jones' shoulder. She glanced at her watch. "Oh, I've got to get going, please speak to Steve."

"And if he asks?"

"I'm sure he won't. He has a lot of respect for you."

* * *

Bucky knocked back another drink. He's lost count at about five. That was a good hour or two ago. He was still reeling over the fact that his best friend, sickly little Steve Rogers was now six foot of muscle and had rescued him and his troops from the clutches of HYDRA, with the help of only one other person. Not only that, but now he had found himself a gorgeous dame, and he hadn't even needed Bucky's help!

"My boys all grown up," he murmured with a slight grin to himself.

He had happily offered his services to his friend for his future endeavors to shut down HYDRA's plans throughout Europe. He along with several other fellows who had survived the HYDRA camp had all raised their hands to help Captain America.

Steve slid back into the seat beside Bucky, after refilling his new team's glasses for what could very well have been the one hundredth time, or at least it seemed that way. "Good thing we don't move out for a few days."

"Ah, they'd probably still get up and go if we were." They both chuckled. "So, what next?"

"I'm still waiting on one team member," Steve answered, wrapping both hands around the glass in front of him.

"Who? That gorgeous brunette? I thought she was in?" Bucky asked, frowning slightly. She had just been in, telling Steve to report to HQ the next morning.

"No, the Lieutenant."

Bucky raised his eyebrows. The thought of the mysterious Lieutenant Jones always caught his attention quickly. Her behavior was definitely strange, but there was something else about her that caught his eye, aside from the fact that she wasn't unpleasant to look at. "You're signing her up?"

"Agent Carter's recommendation. She said the Lieutenant possesses special skills that could prove useful on missions," Steve replied. "Personally, she makes me a little nervous. Just something about her, doesn't seem right."

Bucky could understand where Steve was coming from. She very rarely spoke to anyone other than Agent Carter or Colonel Phillips, although if spoken to by Steve she would usually answer. She just never went out of her way to speak to anyone. And he recalled seeing her catch Steve inside the factory. No way would an average woman have been able to bear his weight, let alone lift his weight up like she had. "So why are you wanting her on the team?"

Steve was thoughtful for a moment. "After all that's said and done, she helped me when I needed it, and she's proven that she knows what she's doing. I don't believe for a moment that she's 'just a medic', though."

Bucky grinned. "She can work on me any day."

"I would really prefer not to," came the familiar chill of a voice from behind them. They both spun in their seats in surprise. She looked at both of them with an expressionless face. She was wearing her service uniform, same as Steve, her finely pressed skirt showing just a small amount of leg. She turned a lot of heads in the bar, although she seemed to pay them no mind. Bucky noted her eyes seemed more brown than red today, as she seemed to look at both of their chests, something he noted she did a lot of. She settled her gaze on Steve. "You wanted to see me?"

"Always a pleasure to see you," Bucky said, winking at her. Her eyes shifted to him, an icy edge to them, as if she looked straight through him and not at him. Her expression didn't change once as her gaze shifted back to Steve. Bucky was starting to think the roles of he and Steve had reversed dramatically since the last time they had hung out at home in Brooklyn.

"Colonel Phillips speak to you?" Steve asked, getting straight to the point.

"He did."

"And?"

The Asian glanced away sideways for a moment, appearing hesitant. "I'm not sure." Bucky furrowed his brow and looked at Steve. After what Steve had told him, he was sure the medic would agree. Steve pressed his lips into a thin line, waiting for her to continue. "I've got a…condition, it can make things hard."

"A condition? What, like an illness?" Bucky asked, frowning as he stared at her. From what he'd seen, she was fitter and healthier than half his men had been. Although, it could explain her strangely pale skin, it just didn't seem to match up with her exotic appearance.

She grimaced, sighing as she fixed her gaze back on them. "You could say that."

Steve shook his head, leaning forwards on his stool slightly. "Whatever it is, we will help you where we can."

She gave a weak smile. "That's kind of you. However, I need you to understand, I'm a monster." Bucky frowned and stared at Jones. The iciness was back in her eyes, her face expressionless once more and she watched them both. He wasn't sure why this woman thought so little of herself, but it broke his heart to see such a thing.

Steve seemed somewhat flabbergasted but recovered quicker than Bucky could. "I find that hard to believe."

"That may be the case, Captain. However, it's the truth," there was a raucous from the other side of the bar, all three turning to see the rest of Steve's team singing, if you could call it that. They were terribly out of tune. "Then again, listening to that, I might not be the only monster on your team."

Bucky chuckled, even though Jones didn't even show a hint of a smile when she spoke. "If we can deal with that lot, we can deal with your 'monstrous' side." Steve nodded in agreement, smiling warmly at Jones.

Jones sighed again, blinking once before nodding. "We'll see, I guess."

"So that's a yes then?" Bucky said, grinning at her. She didn't answer, instead turning and heading for the door. Bucky leaned closer to Steve. "I think she likes me."

"Not even close, Sergeant!" she shouted as she slipped out the door. Bucky paled and looked from the door to Steve, while his friend did his best not to laugh at his reaction.

* * *

Jones walked alongside Peggy as they headed to meet with Steve and Howard.

"You will be fine," Peggy tried to ease Jones' concerns.

"I've heard that before."

"You're not like the others, and he knows I trust you with my life," Peggy hissed, nudging her with an elbow in the side.

"How many have you met? To say that I'm not like the others?" Jones demanded indignantly.

Peggy pursed her lips slightly, knowing she had been caught out. "Well, I…" they turned a corner and Peggy trailed off, staring straight ahead with a look of disbelief, her heart rate increasing rapidly.

Jones followed her gaze and raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Oh…" Before them, Steve was in the embrace of Private Lorraine, her lips pressed against his and she had him pinned against a desk. "Ahem."

Both Private Lorraine and Steve jumped apart, Steve looking completely bewildered as he saw Peggy beside Jones.

"Captain, we're ready for you, if you're not otherwise occupied," Peggy said coldly, making even Jones feel frigid.

She grimaced at Steve as Peggy began to walk away. She nodded her head towards the direction that Peggy walked off, urging Steve to move. He was quick to follow her, while Jones looked pointedly at Private Lorraine, taking a few steps closer to her. "You and I will be having a conversation very soon, Private." The blonde paled instantly at the cold words of her Lieutenant, nodding sheepishly. "Move, you've got papers to sort." She hurried away, while Jones made her way to Stark's corner of the bunker.

When she found them, Peggy was no where to be seen, but Steve and Howard seemed to be chatting as they moved through the lab. She moved to stand by a nearby wall, listening intently for a few moments.

"Fondue is just cheese and bread, my friend."

"Really? I didn't think…" Steve began, clearly getting flustered.

"Nor should you, pal. The moment you think you know what's goin' on in a woman's head, it's the moment your goose is well and truly cooked. Me, I concentrate on work. Which at the moment is about making sure you and your men," he looked up to see Jones standing against the wall. "And woman, do not get killed." He waved to Jones, and she gave a weak smile in response. The man was strangely perceptive of his surroundings for someone with such a big ego. While she hated the way the man liked to talk about himself or threw himself at women, she admired the man for his intellect. She moved to stand beside the table he now walked towards, grabbing a piece of cloth and holding it up for them to see. "Carbon polymer. Should withstand your average German bayonet. Although, Hydra's not going to attack you with a pocket knife. Her on the other hand, I hear it's her preference." Howard motioned towards Jones, and Steve looked at her questioningly.

"They're quiet," she murmured, pouting slightly, although that wasn't the only reason. She hated patching up bullet wounds. The patients were always butchered, but with knives you could choose the severity of the wound inflicted on your victim. She considered it...nicer. Steve raised an eyebrow at her comment, while Howard grinned at her, causing her to roll her eyes.

Howard moved onto another table, motioning to the shield Steve had taken with him to Krausberg. "I hear you're…uh… kinda attached?"

Steve nodded, touching a hand to it. "It's handier than you might think."

Howard motioned to a few other designs he had lying out around the shield. "I took the liberty of coming up with some options." He lifted one up, showing it first to Steve and then to Jones. "This one's fun. She's been fitted with electrical relays. It'll allow you to…"

Steve's eye had been caught by something else below the table and he stooped down to pick up, Jones peering down as he pulled it out. "What about this one?" It was a plain round shield, nothing fancy about it like some of Howard's other designs. Jones peered at it closely, before reaching forward and tapping against it with a fingernail. The sound it made was familiar.

"No! No! That's just a prototype," Howard tried to palm it off.

"What's it made of?" Steve asked in wonder, looking it over closely.

Jones answered before Howard could. "It's Vibranium. It's stronger than steel and a third of the weight, very rare." Howard and Steve both looked at her in surprise. "What? I read…"

Steve looked back at the shield in his hand, running his hand along the edge of it. "How come it's not a standard issue?"

"As Jones said, that's the rarest metal on earth. What you're holding there? That's all we've got," Howard explained. Steve raised his eyebrows in surprise, before looking at Jones who shrugged at his questioning look.

Peggy appeared on the other side of the room from them, looking annoyed. "You quite finished, Mr. Stark? I'm sure the Captain has some unfinished business." Jones grimaced at Peggy's tone, she was glad not to be in Steve's shoes currently.

Steve looked behind him to Peggy, holding up the shield towards her. "What do you think?" The brunette looked at it for a moment, before looking back to Steve's face. Without warning, she picked up a nearby handgun, aiming at the shield and firing off three shots. The noise of the bullets hitting the shield caused Jones to cover her ears, the ringing making her head ache painfully.

"CARTER!" she shouted at her.

Peggy looked at the shield again and then back at Steve, ignoring Jones. "Yes. I think it works." She put the gun back down, before turning and striding away. Steve, Howard, Jones and several of the lab technicians stood watching her walk away in awe.

Steve put the shield back down, before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a piece of paper, handing it to Howard, still watching Peggy walk away. "I had some ideas about the uniform."

Howard reached across, taking the piece of paper without looking at it, his eyes still watching Peggy as she turned the corner. "Whatever you want, pal." Jones finally snapped out of her stupor, the pain in her head subsiding and began to follow after Peggy. "Hey!" Howard called after her, making her snap her head around to look at him. "I fixed you up a uniform too, it's over there." She wrinkled her nose slightly, but nodded, quick to run after Peggy.

* * *

 **xo**

 **Krayzee**


	5. Darkness

**Do not own Marvel or any characters.**

 **Just thoroughly enjoy them :P**

 **Enjoy**

 **xo**

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

 **Darkness**

Bucky shifted in his seat, if you could call It that. It was more like an ice-cold wooden bench in the back of the truck they were travelling in. They were on their way to their next target. The truck was going to drop them off further inside enemy territory, cutting down their travelling time by half and making it easier for them to carry more weapons and ammunition with them.

Bucky glanced over to where the Lieutenant was sitting away from the others, watching out the back of the truck quite intently, as cautious and hypervigilant as ever. This was now their sixth mission together, she had slid into her role with the Howling Commandos quite easily, for a medic. She had taken to the role of a scout quite quickly, having what could only be described as uncanny stealthy abilities. All the men often commented about how it seemed like she just melted into shadows, reappearing where she was needed, but she would usually just blush and wave off their compliments. As for her role as a medic, the most she had needed to do was to deal with a few bullet grazes or in Dum Dum's case, a massive splinter after he thought it was a good idea to try and barge through the side of a wooden shed.

And boy, was it a sight to see her blush. Bucky had taken it upon himself to try and make her blush as much as possible, enjoying seeing the pink tinge tone her usually pale cheeks.

He shifted his sniper rifle over his shoulder and stood up, moving to sit next to Sarah, as he had found her first name to be. He refused to call her Jones, firstly on Gabe's account, stating that Jones suited him better, and secondly, and it was his favourite excuse, her first name was far too pretty not to use, just like her. Naturally, that was his favourite excuse whenever she complained about his use of her name, to the point she never verbally complained anymore.

She blanched when he sat beside her, looking up at him with a furrowed brow. In the last month, he had become accustomed to the few expressions that Sarah had shown them, all as serious as the next. "Hey."

"Sergeant," she greeted stiffly. "Can I help you with something?"

"I'm sure you could," he answered with a smirk, earning an eye roll, another of the few expressions he had become accustomed to. "But I thought I would come and see how you're going? I mean, you're newer to the frontline stuff than I am."

She looked at him sceptically, before glancing back around the back of the truck at the other men. They all were having conversations of their own, paying her no mind. It wasn't that none of them liked her, they'd just gotten used to her nature and tended to leave her alone unless they needed medical attention or wanted to run an idea by her and Steve, since they were the two highest ranking personnel there.

She looked back to Bucky, her face void of expression again. "Thank you, but I'm quite fine, Sergeant."

He looked at her pointedly. "Hey, I told you, you can call me Bucky, Sarah." He grinned as he saw her jaw clench slightly, like she always did when he didn't use her last name.

She looked like she was about to say something else, when suddenly her eyes went wide, she snapped her head to look over her shoulder and her whole body tensed. She looked back to Bucky, before grabbing him roughly and shoving him backwards, launching herself to her feet while shouting. "BRACE YOURSELVES!"

There was the sound of metal meeting metal, as the truck they were riding in lurched sideways, everyone being thrown about the interior of the truck. A loud crunching sound rang out all around them, as the truck was knocked from its wheels and fell onto its side, the Howling Commandos landing heavily into a heap on the side of the canvas.

Bucky heard voices shouting in German, doors opening, and the sound of weapons being loaded as footsteps began to spread themselves out. "Guys."

"Move!" Steve shouted, righting himself first and starting to help the others up. Dum Dum was closest to the opening at the back of the truck, along with Sarah. He threw her a weapon and she caught it easily, before diving out of the canvas of the truck, rolling through the snow and beginning to fire upon the enemy.

"It's HYDRA!" she shouted. "Get out!"

The air filled with the sound of more rifle fire as they returned fire on her, and Dum Dum hurried out to offer her some support while the others sorted themselves out. Bucky felt like maybe he had jarred his ankle when the truck had tipped, but now was not the time to worry about that.

"Let's go, move!" Steve shouted, helping Falsworth up and giving him a shoulder to lean on. He used his shield to prevent any bullets from hitting Falsworth, also throwing it a few times to take down any HYDRA who got to close as they made their retreat to cover.

"They've got a bloody tank!" Dum Dum shouted as Bucky made his way out of the truck, moving his rifle into his shoulder and beginning to fire back at HYDRA too. He saw Sarah using the large trunk of a fallen tree that had been split into two halves, as cover, occasionally popping over it to fire back at the enemy.

He ran over and slid in beside her, before cocking his rifle and turning to take aim as well. He managed to shoot out two enemy shooters before having to duck under cover again. "Steve, we need a plan, that tank is turning around for a shot at us!"

Clearly, the tank had rammed them, looking at the state of the truck. It was amazing that they hadn't been killed instantly, Sarah's warning obviously just enough to prevent any serious injuries.

"Get to cover!" Steve ordered, and everyone went scrambling, but Dernier was apparently more injured than he realised, and when he went to run, he collapsed and shouted in pain, his knee giving way under the extra strain of trying to sprint.

Bucky turned to look, but no sooner had he turned before Sarah sprinted past him, appearing as just a black blur. She reached Dernier, grabbing him roughly and hoisting him onto her shoulder, before turning to make a run back for the trunk. Bucky was stunned to see her moving so fast and with Dernier's weight barely seeming to slow her down, until suddenly a shot rang out and Sarah stumbled slightly.

He saw a spray of blood from her side, but although she hesitated for a moment, she soon began to run again. There was another shot, and Sarah stumbled again, this time being forced to step sideways as a shot hit her in the shoulder. He saw her clench her jaw again, but she continued moving, becoming a black blur again as she made her way back to the trunk.

She dropped Dernier, before slipping into a crouch beside him. _"_ _Est ce que ça va?"_ she said to Dernier, beginning to check him over. Bucky continued to fire over the tree trunk, doing his best to keep the HYDRA forces back.

" _Oui, oui,_ _juste tendu mon genou,_ » Dernier replied.

"Okay?" Bucky shouted over the gun fire around them as Dum Dum, Morita and Jones began laying down heavy fire.

"Yeah, he's fine," Sarah replied in an offhand manner as she quickly checked him over before handing him back his weapon.

"I meant you!" Bucky exclaimed in exasperation. She didn't answer, instead moving towards the end of the tree trunk and peering out. He saw blood seeping from the wound in her shoulder, although it seemed to flow excruciatingly slowly from what he could see against the black of her clothing.

"We're pinned down." She looked around the tree trunk, biting her lip, before glancing back to Bucky and then around at the other men who were trying to hold back the HYDRA forces from getting closer.

"That tank is on its way back!" Falsworth shouted from the ditch they were using as cover, that was situated a few metres away from the tree trunk, along with Steve and Morita. Dum Dum and Jones glanced back to them from the other half of the tree trunk they were using as cover for any sign of new orders from Steve.

"Steve, we've got to make a run for it!" Bucky shouted.

"Alright, I'll hold them here, you guys make for the valley!" Steve shouted, beginning to motion for everyone to fall back.

"Are you insane?" Bucky demanded looking at his friend in bewilderment. Why was he always trying to be the one to take the beating?

"No," came a stern voice from beside Bucky. He looked past Dernier to Sarah, who was still kneeling down, looking towards the HYDRA forces. She glanced back to Bucky and then past him towards Steve. "I'll take care of this; you guys start moving back."

"What?" Bucky demanded, looking at the woman incredulously. "I'm not sure if you've noticed but we are outmanned and outgunned."

"Jones, you've got your orders!" Steve shouted back to her in exasperation.

"Actually, I have other orders from higher up," she responded with a level tone, her eyes not leaving Steve. Bucky stiffened at the tone. "Leave it to me. Go." Bucky glared at her, about to argue, when he saw something that made him freeze. Her eyes flashed a bright red as she took her knives from her holster around her thigh. She looked up to the night sky, before standing and disappearing into nothing but shadow.

"Wait!" Steve exclaimed. His eyes widened with shock, before he looked around, trying to find her in the darkness, as did everyone else.

"What the hell…?" Bucky breathed, staring at the spot where she had vanished, Dernier also seeming to be frozen in disbelief of what he had just seen.

"Covering fire!" Steve ordered, recovering first, and all the men turned and began firing back on the HYDRA troops. "Bucky, get Dernier and fall back to my position, now!"

As he fired wildly over the trunk, he grabbed Dernier, offering him a shoulder to lean on and they began to shuffle through the darkness towards the ditch, stumbling occasionally as they struggled to see in the night. Bucky took a chance and glanced over his shoulder towards the HYDRA forces. There, he saw a black blur moving through the HYDRA ranks. Wherever the black blur moved, it would leave in its wake bruised, battered and bloodied men. HYDRA continued firing on them, apparently unaware of what was decimating their ranks.

"The tank!" Morita shouted. They all ripped their eyes from the blur, and saw the tank turning its turret towards them, the sound of the gun warming up to fire its advanced weaponry beginning to ring in the air.

"Get down!" Steve shouted as the weapon fired, its aim on their cover first and Steve made to dive to the ground. He and Dernier dove for the ground, looking up as they hit the ground.

As he watched, it was like a shadow moved in front of the ditch where Steve, Morita and Falsworth were positioned, and everything seemed to slow. The shadow formed a body, pale features facing down the blast from the tank, red eyes glaring straight ahead. The blast struck her, followed by an explosion and Sarah's body flew backwards, over the ditch where Steve, Morita and Falsworth were hiding and into a tree further back. She slid to the ground, slumping against the tree.

"Sarah!" Bucky shouted, looking to her in horror.

"Jones!" Steve exclaimed, making to move towards her.

"Bucky! Get out of there! The tank!" Dum Dum shouted, drawing everyone's attention back to the tank and causing Steve to stop in his tracks. Its turret had changed its trajectory and it was now pointing straight at he and Dernier.

"Shit." He struggled to get Dernier to his feet, the Frenchman's knee struggling to hold his weight, and both made to move for the ditch again. The tank turret began to whine as it powered up. Bucky and Dernier were just shy of the ditch when the turret fired.

* * *

Bucky closed his eyes as he waited for the blast to hit he and Dernier. There was the sound of the blast hitting something, but there was no pain and very little heat. He opened his eyes slowly. Off to one side of he and Dernier, was a deep scorch mark on the ground, smoke still rising from it. He furrowed his brow and looked up, seeing Sarah standing in front of him, Steve's shield in her hand, held to one side as she crouched slightly.

Bucky stared in awe, the side of her face that he could see featured scorch marks and her flesh appeared to be badly burnt, already blistering in places. Her clothes were torn and burnt in places, one sleeve of her shirt completely burnt off and the skin on her arm bubbled. Her hair had begun to fall loose from her braid and cascaded down her shoulders. "Sarah?"

HYDRA also seemed to be somewhat in awe of her, no one moved on either side, just frozen, staring at her. She straightened slightly, turning her head slightly to look at Bucky and Dernier. What he saw when she looked at him had his breath hitch slightly. Her eyes were radiating red, no sign of the brown he had seen previously, they shone like rubies. And poking out from beneath her lips as she smirked at him, were unmistakable fangs, two of them, long and white.

" _Oh mon dieu…"_ Dernier breathed, staring at Sarah.

"You should get to safety," she muttered, turning back to look at the HYDRA forces in front of her. "I'll take care of this." She dropped Steve's shield onto the ground, before pulling more knives from her thigh holster, and taking a step forward, vanishing into a black shadow once again. The sound of weapons firing roused Bucky from his stupor, he picked up Steve's shield and he began dragging Dernier back towards the ditch again.

He finally threw Dernier down to Morita and Falsworth, passing Steve his shield and turning as Dum Dum and Jones joined them, both of them dropping into the ditch. Bucky looked back towards HYDRA, but it was dark, any sign of Sarah and the enemy forces impossible to make out from so far away. All he could do was listen as there was screams of terror, sporadic sounds of weapons discharging and the sounds of running footsteps.

"Bucky, get in here, now," Steve ordered, although he never took his eyes off the trees ahead of them, clearly also intrigued about what was happening out there. Bucky hesitantly began to move again, about to drop into the ditch when there was an explosion ahead of them, the flames stretching high into the sky in a blue mushroom, causing Bucky to dive into the ditch quickly.

"Whoa!" Dum Dum exclaimed, as they all ducked below the top of the ditch for some cover. "There goes the tank."

Bucky was the first to stand, looking out over the top of the ditch, trying to make out what was happening in the distance. It was still hard to see anything as the flames that seemed to be coming from the tank began to die down.

"Where is she?" Steve murmured, also standing to look into the distance.

They heard the sound of someone running towards them, their breathing ragged and fearful. Bucky was quick to raise his rifle, looking through the scope to see who it was. He was stunned to see a HYDRA soldier running through the darkness. Bucky could just make out that there was blood all over his uniform and hands, yet it didn't seem to be his own. Horror was written all across his features as he ran haphazardly towards them, looking back once, before seeming to run even faster.

Suddenly, there was a shadow behind him, and it lashed out at him, ripping him backwards. The shadow took form, Sarah's bloody face staring down at the HYDRA soldier. She cocked her head to one side as she looked down at the man, who sobbed pathetically before her. She began to curl her top lip, in the most menacing smile Bucky had ever seen in his life, her fangs even more pronounced than before. She began to reach down for him, her ruby red eyes glistening even in the dull light.

"Lieutenant!" Steve shouted, leaping out of the ditch and rushing towards her. Bucky was quick to follow, seeing Sarah's eyes flicker from the HYDRA soldier to Steve, a look of contempt on her face. "We will take it from here, we can take him back for questioning."

Bucky stopped beside Steve, looking at Sarah's face with intrigue, and possibly some mild form of fear. Her gaze lingered between the HYDRA soldier and Steve, but she didn't move towards the soldier again, allowing Steve to lift him to his feet roughly, and push him towards Dum Dum and Morita, who had summed up the courage to approach Sarah too, although they had obvious looks of shock on their faces as they looked her up and down. And Bucky could hardly blame them.

* * *

Steve stared at the Lieutenant, taking in the changes to her appearance. The fangs that poked out from beneath her top lip and the glistening red eyes most of all. He'd seen plenty of movies that told stories of creatures with the same appearance as her, but they were all fiction. Weren't they?

"Sarah?" Bucky murmured, stepping closer towards the Lieutenant. Steve held an arm out to him, not wanting to risk his friend in case the movies turned out to be right. Bucky gave him an indignant look, but stopped, looking back to the woman.

She was glancing between them with a nonchalant look on her face, appearing indifferent to their attitude towards her. She glanced past them, Steve turning around to see the others looking towards her with curious and slightly fearful appearances on their faces. He turned back to look at her and her eyes met his. "You good?"

She blinked, a surprised expression crossing her exotic features, before she took a deep breath, closing her eyes. Her fangs shrunk to half their size, only just being visible below her top lip and the red of her eyes seemed to soften slightly when she reopened them. She looked between Steve and Bucky, running her tongue along her top lip, appearing to feel her fangs. "It's the best I can do without feeding," she said bluntly with a shrug.

Steve furrowed his brow and glanced at Bucky, who also seemed to mimic his concerns. Steve sighed as he looked back to her, taking in the injuries to her face and arm. The skin was badly burnt in places, with one of her sleeves completely burnt off up to above the shoulder, even with the special fabric that Howard had used. He bit the inside of his bottom lip when he considered the fact that her injuries were from protecting he and his men from HYDRA's attacks. "We should get you back to base so we can get you treatment."

She pressed her lips into a thin line and her eyes flicked from Steve to Bucky and back again. "You sure you want to take me back there?"

Steve wondered about that to, but a thought occurred to him. "I'm assuming Agent Carter and Colonel Phillips are aware of…this?" he asked, looking pointedly at her. She gave a small nod. "Then it's not my place to comment."

She frowned before looking past him to the others. "And them?"

"They still need a medic to keep them out of trouble," Bucky piped up quickly, causing Steve to look at him with raised eyebrows, not sure if the comment was ideal. "Well, maybe just me." He shrugged and gave her an encouraging smile.

She took a deep breath, scratching her head, looking at Steve again. "You're the Captain."

He gave a nod and they turned and began making their way back to camp.

* * *

 **xo**

 **Krayzee**


	6. Blood Lust

**Enjoy**

 **xo**

* * *

 **Chapter 6**

 **Blood Lust**

They'd been travelling for a good few hours in silence, aside from the nervous sobs of the HYDRA soldier they forced to march in the centre of their ranks. Sarah dragged up the rear, keeping a fair few paces behind them, moving in the shadows of the trees caused by the moonlight.

They took a break after a good five hours of walking, stepping off the road they were walking along to rest amongst the trees, out of sight. Dernier was beginning to struggle with his knee and Bucky looked around for Sarah. He saw sitting under a tree a good ten metres away from anyone else, darkness covering all her features from being seen, the only thing that gave away her position was the red of her eyes piercing through the darkness.

He made his way over to her, stopping in front of her. Her eyes didn't move to look at him. "Sarah, Dernier could use some dressing on his knee," he said, bending slightly to try and meet her gaze. He saw her eyes shift slightly, and she leant forward into the moonlight and what he saw made his breath hitch in his throat.

As he looked upon her face, all the wounds she had suffered fighting against HYDRA had mostly vanished and her skin appeared to be smooth once again, just the tiniest of slivers of a wound on her cheek. Her fangs still protruded from beneath her top lip and her eyes seemed to have become a little more crimson as the night had progressed.

"Does he want ME to treat him?" she asked quietly, her face void of any expression once again.

"There's no one here who can do it properly," Bucky replied, being careful to keep his voice even and calm, regardless of his surprise. It was half true, she was the properly trained medic, the others could certainly do the job, but it was her specialty.

She sighed and stood, brushing herself off before beginning to pull bandages from a bag she kept strapped around her waist. She moved silently toward the spot where Dernier and Jones were resting, Dernier's injured leg out straight in front of him.

When they saw her approaching, Jones sat up straighter, eyeing Sarah nervously, while Dernier simply smiled at her. She crouched down beside Dernier, occasionally murmuring to him in French, not meeting anyone's eyes, although Bucky was sure she was well aware that everyone was watching her.

She finally patted Dernier on the boot, moving to stand up.

" _Je vous remercie,_ " he said very quickly, still smiling at her. She gave a slight grimace. _"_ _je suis content que tu sois là._ "

She raised her eyebrows at that, giving a small smile in return but saying nothing as she turned her back and returned to her post. Bucky looked from Sarah to Dernier, before moving to sit next to Jones. "What did he say to her?"

Jones seemed hesitant to reply at first but answered quietly. "He said thank you, and I'm glad you're here."

That made Bucky smile slightly, glancing back towards Sarah, sitting in the darkness.

"Is she…" Jones began to ask.

"Our medic? Yes. Yes, she is." Bucky looked pointedly at Jones. His eyebrows raised slightly in response, before glancing back towards the darkness where Sarah was no doubt watching and listening. Jones gave a small smile, nodding.

* * *

Steve set them off marching back towards base again, the sun was beginning to rise above the trees, the morning light beginning to flow through the sparse branches of the pine trees around them. They weren't far from base now, and Morita had radioed through to SSR to let them know they weren't far out with an injured team member and captive. Phillips was sending someone out to meet them, but they were still a few kilometres off meeting them, for their safety.

Jones was still hanging back from the team, although all her wounds had healed throughout the night and she looked reasonably normal again, apart from the teeth and eyes. Steve had noticed in the morning when she reported in to check on everyone for any wounds or frostbite that her eyes had become an even darker red, all signs of the brown he had seen there in their first meeting completely gone. She also seemed very lethargic, her features gaunt in the early morning light.

He glanced back to check on her, noticing that she had dropped further back than she had before. Bucky, who was walking beside him, also looked back, his face immediately concerned when he saw her. He began to slow, almost stopping to wait for her to catch up. She looked up towards them, grimacing slightly as she approached Bucky.

He saw Bucky say something to her but couldn't quite catch what it was he said. What he did catch was the moment she began to pitch forward, collapsing to her knees.

"Whoa! Jones!" he shouted, calling everyone's attention to the medic. He sprinted back as Bucky was quick to reach down, stopping her from falling further onto her front. He held her up, bending down slightly so he could try and look at her face as Steve quickly knelt down in front of them.

"Sarah, what's going on? Are you okay?" Bucky asked, concern evident in his questions and face as he peered at her.

"Get away, it's not safe," she said between shallow breaths. She seemed to be struggling with something, staring off between the two of them.

"What's not safe?" Steve demanded, trying to sit Jones up onto her knees, but she leaned forward again, putting her hands onto the ground. He noticed she seemed to grip at the ground with her nails, her black hair falling across face and hiding a majority of her features, but he could see that she seemed to be in some form of pain. "Are you hurt?"

"You need…to…get…away…me."

"Sarah, we can help you," Bucky said soothingly, grasping her on the shoulder and trying to get her to sit up. "Whatever's wrong, we can find a way to help you."

Her face shot up, exposing her face, and both Steve and Bucky could see her eyes were glowing red again and her teeth further exposed. "You can't…" she breathed. "I need blood, you have to get away from me before the blood lust takes over."

Steve glanced at Bucky, who furrowed his brow in concern. They were not prepared for this.

"How long do we have?" Bucky asked, not letting go of the medic.

"Maybe half an hour, if that. I can smell your blood, I can hear it, pumping through your veins, its…not good," she stammered, looking gravely at the ground. Bucky looked back at Steve and then back to the rest of the squad who were waiting and watching in anticipation.

Steve chewed his lip thoughtfully for a moment, considering how they were going to get out of this. "I don't suppose animal blood would tide you over?" he asked, half-jokingly. If they could at least quell the problem for the time being until they got back to base, he was happy to go along with it.

"You think I didn't consider that? The animals in this area fled the moment the war moved in," she scoffed, sitting up slightly so she could pin him with a mocking look.

"Right, of course."

Bucky seemed to be considering something, and before Steve or Jones could argue, he had begun to try and hoist Jones to her feet. "Come on, the sooner we get you to base, the better."

"Are you insane? Get away from me!" she exclaimed in exasperation, feebly trying to pull her arms from his grasp, as Bucky began to sling her arm over his shoulders. Steve looked to his friend as he tried to pull the woman to her feet, before taking her other arm and slinging it across his shoulders too, earning him an incredulous look from her. "Wha-"

"Bucky's right, the sooner we get you back, the better. Let's move."

They both began supporting her back to the base, the squad, looking somewhat relieved, as they began hightailing it back to base.

* * *

Jones sighed as she removed her fangs from the blood bag in her hands, licking her lips and then her fangs to remove any evidence of blood from her face. Already she was beginning to feel better, her instincts under control again. She glanced to her right, at the three empty bags beside her on the gurney, guilt beginning to wrack at her insides and make her feel sick. This blood could have been used for injured soldiers, but instead it was used on her. She dropped the bag on top of the pile and leant forward, putting her weight on her arms.

She retracted her fangs, running her tongue along her top lip once to ensure they were fully retracted, before moving to get up.

"Feeling better?" came a voice from the entry of the tent. She jumped, immediately lowering into a slight crouch, her fangs automatically shooting down again. She blinked when she saw Steve standing there. She pouted in annoyance, retracting her fangs again and straightening. "Sorry."

"How long were you standing there?" she demanded, eyeing him suspiciously. It wasn't often people were able to sneak up on her, humans especially, but considering she had just fed, and her instincts were now relaxed again, wasn't completely implausible.

"Long enough to see you looking miserable," he answered honestly, motioning to the pile of empty bags on the gurney. She bit her lip in response, grimacing as she looked back to him. "Care to explain?"

"Did the Colonel not already tell you?" she retorted in annoyance, certain that he would have gone to the Colonel demanding answers.

Steve smiled sympathetically. "I figured it would be better hearing it from you. I'm sure you had your reasons for not telling me sooner?"

"I tried to, remember? In the bar?" She picked up the empty bags, moving to dump them in the bin, the residual smell of blood making her feel ill in the stomach again. As soon as they were in the bin, she caught the familiar scent of Bucky, hearing his footsteps approaching the tent. She groaned, causing Steve to raise his eyebrows expectantly.

"Sarah!" he called, appearing behind Steve, causing the super soldier to look at him in surprise. "Are you okay, Sarah?"

She sighed and scratched the back of her neck, closing her eyes while she tried to quell her frustration at the men before her. This was not going anything like she had imagined it would. "I'm fine, thank you."

"That's a relief," Bucky said smiling, moving to walk into the tent, but Steve put a hand across him, giving a small shake of his head. It made Jones smirk slightly. Steve was scared of her, but strangely, Bucky wasn't. Bucky pinned Steve with an annoyed glare, but Steve didn't remove his hand.

"Buck, I was just going to have a private chat with the Lieutenant."

"Why shouldn't he listen in, Captain? It affects him too, doesn't it? The whole squad should be here for it, that way they can all voice their concerns about having a monster on the team. Even though I did warn you." She pinned him with a somber look, the weight of her own words weighing heavily on her.

"That's not what I meant, Jones, I just want to know what exactly I'm dealing with," Steve replied calmly, looking pointedly at her.

Bucky looked between the two, frowning slightly before he spoke again. "No one thinks of you as a monster, Sarah. You saved all of us. Your method is a little…different, but it gets the job done."

She gaped at Bucky for a moment. Different. That's the term he used? Of all the words he could have used, different was the best he could come up with. And it was the one word that was never used to describe her kind.

She saw Steve smirk slightly as he folded his arms across his chest, his biceps forcing his uniform to the brink of existence. "So, care to tell us about it?" Steve asked, giving her a sympathetic smile again.

She sighed, motioning for the pair of them to come inside the tent as she sat back on the gurney while the pair pulled up a couple chairs inside the aid tent.

"I guess I don't need to tell you what I am. The looks on your faces told me you've all seen the movies," she said with a sly smile. Both looked apologetic but didn't respond to her jab. "In my home country of Thailand, or as it was known when I was born, Siam, we are called _Phi Song Nang_ , or in your tongue, vampire."

"Siam? Wait…wasn't there a book about that place?" Bucky asked, looking thoughtful and confused at the same time, which Jones found quite amusing.

"It was loosely based on a tale of my family, very loosely, though."

It didn't take long until Steve's eyes went wide with realisation. "You're royalty?"

"Was," she corrected with a sigh, although smirking slightly at Steve. Trust the golden boy to have read the tale. "I was banished long ago to protect the people of the kingdom upon my father's orders. I've been roaming throughout the world since the late 1700s as a vampire, but long ago, I swore not to take the blood of the living with my own teeth. The only exception being if they thoroughly deserved it."

Bucky and Steve were both quiet, looking at Jones and it made her self-conscious. She heard familiar footsteps approaching the entrance of the tent. She scratched at the back of her neck, before clearing her throat. That seemed to snap the pair from their own thoughts.

"Okay… so how did you get here?" Steve asked, raising his eyebrows at her expectantly.

"I can answer that," came the Colonel's voice as he pushed open the tent flap, Agent Carter close behind him. Jones was quick to her feet, standing fast before the superior officer, Bucky and Steve close behind her. "At ease."

"It was actually our idea for Jones to join us here at SSR," Peggy spoke up, moving to stand beside Jones, as everyone settled down again. "Particularly after she ran into a burning building and managed to save a meagre ten family members without so much as a major injury to speak of."

Jones sighed. "Regretted it ever since," she murmured, earning her a wry smile from Peggy.

"I found her skills, although different, could prove useful at some point. And then she proved to be quite knowledgeable about medical treatment, able to sniff out problems that normal doctors couldn't," Colonel Phillips explained, standing between Jones and Steve with his arms crossed. "So, I sent her to work there until I could figure out how to better utilise her…skills."

"And that's where we came along?" Steve asked, motioning to Bucky.

"Well, you were already around…" Peggy muttered, smirking at the Colonel, earning her a warning look from the officer.

"But I wasn't really ready for this kind of thing. I'm still not sure I am," Jones explained quietly, looking sadly at the ground. "It's dangerous, being around me if I fall under blood lust."

"We're taking measures to try and figure out a way to control that," the Colonel piped up, but it seemed to annoy Jones, causing her to snap in response.

"How many times do I have to tell you? It's not something that can be controlled!"

The Colonel pressed his lips into a thin line and Jones immediately felt guilty. She tried not to raise her voice or put the edge in her voice. She hated the affect she could have on normal humans.

Steve looked at Bucky who raised his eyebrows and looked pointedly back at Steve. Jones glanced between the two, trying to decipher what they were thinking. While she knew she could easily reach out and find out for herself, but that tended to make them nervous, even without knowing what she was doing. Or give them the wrong idea.

It was interesting watching the pair though, it was like they had an unspoken language, immediately knowing what the other was thinking with only the rise of a brow or a wink.

Bucky looked back to Jones. "What do YOU want to do?"

She looked at him incredulously, her mouth slightly ajar as she stared. "What do you mean?"

"Exactly as he said, what do you want to do?" Steve repeated, smiling when she furrowed her brow at him. "Sit around here, moping about wanting to do more and dealing with the mess that comes back from the frontline or get out there and stop it before it happens?" he elaborated.

She looked away, glancing towards the bin that he had seen her drop the empty blood bags into. "But…"

"Everything else, we can deal with as it comes. It's what you want to do, that counts right now," Steve interjected.

"I'm not just something you can 'deal' with, Steve." She looked up at him finally. "And what about your men? How do we know that they even want to be near me?"

"Why don't we ask them?" Bucky asked, grinning and causing Jones to frown.

* * *

 **xo**

 **Krayzee**


	7. Dreams

**Took a slight detour to get the next chapter up. I've been a little busy, but here is the next chapter.**

 **Enjoy**

 **xo**

* * *

 **Chapter 7**

 **Dreams**

Jones stepped inside the tent behind Bucky, who stepped aside, smiling warmly at her and offering for her to move in front of him. She was quick to look down as she stepped ahead of him.

She tentatively looked around, seeing the faces of the Howling Commandos looking back at her quizzically. She wasn't sure whether it was because she was in their tent for the first time, or if it because they wondered why she was being allowed near them again. She couldn't smell fear in the air, but then again, the tent stank, as any would with six men sharing such a small space would. It wouldn't be hard to hide the smell of fear with the stench.

Steve stood before the men, with the Colonel and Peggy standing off to one side too. He was ever the figure of authority and calm. You wouldn't have thought that several hours ago he had been exposed to the supernatural side of the world. Then again…he is what he is.

"Gentleman, I know we're all a little tired after the last twenty-four hours, but we need to address the elephant in the group."

She felt exposed. And it had nothing to do with her partially destroyed uniform either, even though they'd been back for an hour already, she hadn't changed from her clothes. These men knew what she was, they had seen her true self, although not yet her worst self. She crossed her arms across her chest, trying to offer herself some comfort in the current environment.

"Shouldn't talk about a lady like that, Cap," Morita piped up, earning chuckles from the men and a high five from Dum Dum. Jones eyes rose to look around the tent in surprise, stunned at the look of ease now on everyone's faces.

Steve smiled wryly, before nodding in defeat at the joke at his dispense. "Fair call, but we do need to discuss what we all witnessed last night."

The tent quietened as the men all looked from one another and then glanced at Jones. She bit her lip, trying to decipher each man's expression. She focused on their heartbeats and was stunned by what she heard. Not one single person's heart beat in that tent had change. Each was as calm as the next man.

"We already discussed it," Dum Dum spoke up, standing up and hooking his thumbs into the belt loops on his pants. Jones stared at the man, pressing her lips into a thin line as she waited for him to continue. "She's one of us. She's already done more than enough missions with us to prove her worth." He nodded to her, a small smile showing under his moustache. "So, her diets a little different, Morita eats raw fish…no one complains."

"HEY!" Morita objected, causing more laughter in the tent.

The Colonel stepped forward then, causing the tent to quieten again. "I need to stress, soldiers, nothing about Lieutenant Jones' additional skills must leave this unit. For her sake, for your sake, for this unit's sake." The men all nodded solemnly, their joking attitudes gone for the moment. The Colonel looked around the tent once, confirming that all agreed, before nodding to Steve and motioning to Peggy. "We've got a prisoner to question." The pair took their leave, the tent remaining silent for a few agonizing moments.

Jones laced her fingers together in front of her, rocking on the balls of her feet slightly, unsure whether she should also leave.

"I do have one question," Dum Dum piped up finally. Everyone looked at him expectantly. "Don't you burn up in sunlight?"

She blinked a few times, her mouth falling open as she tried to comprehend his question. She had already completed four day-time missions, along with marching in the sun with the unit, she couldn't quite believe he was asking.

Before she could answer several pillows were thrown at Dum Dum and everyone jeered at him for asking, causing her to smile broadly. This conversation definitely hadn't gone the way she thought it was going to.

* * *

The Howling Commandos walked through the forest on their way back to base after another successful mission. It was their first since Sarah had been exposed as a vampire.

She led the unit as they marched, since she was usually the first to spot, hear or smell danger approaching. Bucky and Steve were towards the rear, while the rest of the men were spread out around them, picking their way through the forest. Bucky watched her from the rear of the column, watching as she kept a close eye on their surroundings, her black hair shining in the little rays of sunlight that poked through the tree tops around them.

"Alright, so we know the sunlight thing is wrong, what about the silver bullet?" Dum Dum asked.

During the entirety of the mission so far, if they weren't working, they were asking Sarah to debunk what was myth and what was fact about vampires. Since she had been welcomed to continue with the Howling Commandos, Sarah had come out of her shell a little more, although she didn't tend to get involved in too many conversations, she would at least make herself present for their random conversations.

Morita looked at Dum Dum. "That's werewolves, Ace," he sneered, shaking his head.

Dum Dum considered it for a moment. "Are you sure?"

"Definitely," Bucky said with a shake of his head, earning quiet chuckles from around the squad.

"On that subject, are they real?" Gabe Jones, or Jonesy, as they had come to call him to avoid confusion, asked, looking at her expectantly.

Sarah turned her head slightly to look at Jonesy over her shoulder. "That, I can't answer. I've not had a direct run in with one, but…if I exist, who knows, right?"

The group was quiet for a moment as they all considered her words. Bucky wondered how many different types of people Sarah had met in her time, and if there were many more like her around. Surely there were, but were they all as good as she was? Did they fight for the right things, or mind their own business?

They walked for a while longer, until they decided to pull off the track for a quick break. They spread themselves out around a few trees, some keeping watch, while others drank or snacked for a moment. Bucky settled himself not too far away from where Sarah was keeping watch towards the road.

"Okay, I got one, fire?" Morita asked.

She narrowed her eyes slightly, turning to look at the other Asian in their group who sat to her left. "As in can it kill me?" but he just shrugged in response. "Not really. It can burn me pretty badly, but I'm not sure it would kill me."

"Stake to the heart?" Falsworth asked.

"Yep, you've got to get to it first though," she answered, tapping at her chest and winking at the Englishman. Her answer was so nonchalant that the group was quiet for a moment as they considered it. Even Bucky was somber at the thought, knowing that she could be killed would do that to anyone. She looked around at them, a stern expression on her face. "Relax, like I said, you've got to get to it first." She looked around at everyone, a small comforting smile playing on her lips. That brought a smile to his face. She smiled a lot more now. They were only small, and usually a little unsure, like she hadn't done them in a while, but it was nice to see. She was a pretty girl, there was no denying that, but the smiles made a huge difference.

"Okay," he piped up, deciding to break the somber mood. "Can you turn into a bat?"

"God no!" she scoffed and rolled her eyes. "The closest I can do to that is Shadow shifting, which you've all seen." As if to prove her point, she stepped back into the shadow of a tree and disappeared, appearing in another shadow a little further away with a puff of mist appearing around her as she did so. It made them all jump, and she smiled wryly as she shifted back to her position.

" _La magie?_ " Dernier asked. Bucky didn't need a translator to understand what he was asking.

"Not exactly," she answered, biting her lip. Bucky raised an eyebrow when he recognised the expression on her face. She was shy about the topic. "Shadow shifting isn't exactly considered magic. However, I can control human emotions and behaviour at a touch. Many would consider that magic." He saw her glance over her shoulder at Steve.

When he looked at Steve, he saw his expression change to one of recognition. "When I had that run in with Colonel Phillips? You controlled that?"

"Sort of. It's harder to use it through fabric, I need direct skin to skin for the best connection, but with you two it was more about gaining your attention and distracting you."

"The HYDRA soldiers at Krausberg, you put them to sleep?" Steve continued.

"Yeah, that was full use of those powers."

Bucky furrowed his brow slightly, not sure what they were talking about. "Can you show us? We weren't all privy to this private show," he teased, wiggling his eyebrows at Sarah.

She pinned him with a deadpan look, before rolling her eyes. She glanced at Steve who raised an eyebrow. Bucky realised she was checking with Steve to see if he was okay with her doing it. The realisation must have dawned on him too, because he gave the slightest of nods.

She looked around at the men and her eyes fell on Dum Dum. She stood quietly and walked towards the big man who was crouched against a large tree that had a trunk as thick as he was. "What?" he asked looking around in confusion.

"Give me your hand," she requested, pulling the black leather glove from her hand, before her long slender fingers reached out for Dum Dum.

He looked slightly nervous, before lifting his own hand to hers. She touched his skin, before a small smirk slipped across her lips. "Dream," she said. Dum Dum froze, his eyes glazing over, losing focus as if his mind was elsewhere and his mouth falling open slightly. Sarah watched him for a moment, but never took her hand from his, continuing to observe him. "If I maintain my touch, I can read his emotions, even see his dream if I really wanted too. I don't like being invasive though," she explained, and Bucky detected the slightest tone of sadness in her voice. "Wake."

Dum Dum's eyes immediately returned to their normal appearance and he jumped up slightly, looking around wildly for a moment. Bucky watched as Sarah maintained her grip on Dum Dum's hand. "Calm down, Dugan." The effect was immediate, he looked straight at her and relaxed. She released his hand and turned to walk away.

"Wow, that sure is something," Bucky breathed, staring at her in awe, as she moved back to her position, replacing her glove as she crouched back below the tree she had been keeping watch from. She glanced over at him, her face expressionless once again as she acknowledged his words, but seemed to dismiss them as she turned back to watch the road once again.

* * *

Jones left the aid tent after dealing with her hunger. The problem with entering into such active duty, meant she was needing to feed far more often than once a week, as was her normal routine previously. Her advanced abilities and needing to heal injuries quickly tended to eat away at her energy levels a lot faster and that meant she needed to feed in order to keep the blood lust at bay. The guilt still gnawed at her, every time she used the blood from the aid tent, although Colonel Phillips had taken to ordering in extra just for her now.

She strolled through the camp towards her own tent, keeping her eyes to the ground. It was a habit of hers, the men that were usually in the camp always stared at her before and she found the best way to avoid their hideous catcalls and swooning was to just avoid looking at them. It seemed she was followed by whispers now, after going into active service with the Howling Commandos. Peggy just ignored it, but for Jones it was agitating. Perhaps it was due to the fact that she knew there was a reason the men were so much more attracted to her, and the reason wasn't a pleasant thought. She had previously come to blows with them, but she was trying to keep a low profile now, so kept her sharp tongue and heavy fists at bay.

A familiar scent caught her attention and she looked up sharply towards her tent. Bucky was leaning against an empty fire bin that was positioned not far from the front entrance of her tent. She frowned, narrowing her eyes slightly when he turned and smiled warmly at her.

She slowed to a stop a few feet away from her tent entryway. "Sergeant?"

"Seriously, won't you just call me Bucky like everyone else," he teased with a slight laugh.

She didn't return the gesture. "What are you doing here?"

His charming smile didn't even falter under her cold gaze. "I thought perhaps you'd like to chat? You know? Bonding and stuff." She glared at him while trying to figure out why it was he was really there. She looked at him pointedly and he sighed, looking around the camp quickly, the charm now replaced with a slight anxiousness that she could feel even from the distance she kept from him. "Can we talk inside?"

Something about the way he asked made her realise he wanted to talk about something serious. She listened to his heart beat for a moment, but it gave no clue to his anxiousness, steady as always. She gave a small nod, before moving to enter the tent. She pushed the canvas flap open, holding it wide for him to follow in behind her. She moved towards the back of her tent, removing her gloves from her hands and wiggling them to get them used to the freedom of being exposed to the fresh air again.

"You get a whole tent to yourself?" Bucky asked, looking around with interest.

She glanced at him and raised an eyebrow. "Vampirism allows for certain concessions, I suppose."

Bucky seemed to stiffen at her answer, but she just offered him a wry smile as she began to remove her coat. She could feel his eyes watching her every movement now but didn't meet his gaze. She knew he couldn't help it, none of them could.

She hung her coat up, before turning to look at Bucky. "What did you want to talk about, Sergeant?"

"Bucky, please, I beg of you, not to use my rank," he retorted huffily, and Jones couldn't help but raise both eyebrows in his direction. "Sorry. Just, don't call me Sergeant, please, at least not if we're alone."

"I don't plan on this becoming a regular thing…" she caught herself before she could use his rank again. "Bucky." She noted the small smile of pleasure that flitted across Bucky's lips before continuing. "My question still stands, what did you want to talk about?"

"Your…abilities. You said you can see people's dreams?"

She furrowed her brow, pinning him with a severe look. "I also said I don't like being invasive."

"Even if it's at a person's request?"

Her eyes went wide, and she stared at Bucky for a moment, realising what it was he was asking. "Something wrong?" He bit his bottom lip, before looking awkwardly around the tent. "Sit down," she said motioning to her stretcher. He did as she asked, moving to sit down and she carefully moved to stand across from him, folding her arms. "Start from the beginning."

* * *

Bucky pressed his lips into a thin line, not looking up at the vampire in front of him. After hearing what she had told them during their trip back to base, he couldn't stop thinking about it. If she could see his dream, maybe she could decipher it. It was all a jumble to him.

"Ever since we were captured by HYDRA and I was separated, I feel like that doctor, Zola, did something to me," Bucky explained. He went into further detail, Sarah standing in front of him, listening intently to everything he told her. Her expression didn't change once the whole time he spoke, nor did she interrupt him, which he was somewhat grateful for.

He took a deep breath once he had finished explaining, feeling like a huge weight had been lifted off his chest. She gave him a small sympathetic smile, the first expression that had crossed her face since he had started explaining his request.

"I can sympathise with you, Bucky, but I'm not comfortable reaching into your dreams, or anyone's, for that matter. It's a very personal experience," she explained apologetically, avoiding his gaze.

"I just want to know what he did to me, and maybe something in my dreams or memories will help me find it. Problem is, it's just one big mess up there, I can't make heads or tails of what happens and can't figure it out. I need help!" he explained standing up. He saw her stiffen at his sudden movement, shifting back on her heels ever so slightly. "Sorry."

"It's fine, I can't help you with your dreams, but…" she bit her lip thoughtfully for a moment. Bucky's gaze was drawn to her mouth, his mind immediately beginning to wonder how she can appear so normal in front of him now, when he had seen her with her teeth exposed before. It was all so unreal. She motioned for him to sit down again, which he did, as she began to pace slowly. "All humans have a unique scent. Every human smells different, but there's an underlying familiarity to each scent which is how we tell what we are smelling, to differentiate from an animal or human say."

Bucky stared at her for a moment, trying to figure out why it was she was telling him this. "Huh?"

She gave a light laugh at his reaction, glancing away for a moment and putting her hands on her hips, and Bucky felt his own shoulders loosen at the reaction. The sound of her laughing was music to his ears, and it was like all the noise from outside her tent vanished in the second or two that she was laughing. She looked back at him pointedly. "I'm trying to tell you, I can smell humans, humans all have the same type of scent but there are two people within this camp whose scents are different to the others. One of them is Captain America."

"Really? Why?"

"Think about it, he was genetically altered to be what he is today. There's chemicals and all sorts of things at play in his body, and I can smell those in his scent," she answered quietly, her gaze seeming to become somewhat sympathetic as she looked down at Bucky.

"Okay, so who is the other one?"

She was quiet for a moment as she looked down at him, not saying a word. Finally, she sighed. "The other one, is you."

* * *

 **xo**

 **Krayzee**


	8. Mortality

**Hello!**

 **Got sidetracked with a few things and didn't realise I had a whole complete chapter sitting in my PC lol**

 **Hope you enjoy**

 **xo**

* * *

 **Chapter 8**

 **Mortality**

Jones watched Bucky for a moment, trying to gauge his reaction. Currently, he was just staring back at her in disbelief and shock.

"Are you sure?" he demanded suddenly.

She raised an eyebrow pointedly as she looked down at him. "I dunno, you'd think heightened senses and a penchant for blood would make me somewhat of an expert on the subject," she replied sarcastically. That seemed to bring Bucky back to his senses.

"Right, sorry."

She sighed. "Hey, it's fine. I get it. What I'm trying to tell you, is, that I don't need to see your dreams to know that Zola did something to you. I could tell when we found you," she replied with a wave of her hand.

He leant forward, resting his head into his hands and Jones couldn't help but feel her heart go out for him. She had felt the same way, once upon a time. Finding out that she needed to feed on blood to survive, it had destroyed her from the inside out.

"Have you told anyone?" he asked, not looking up.

"No, I wanted to be sure before they turned you into a lab rat like Rogers was put through, I planned to just keep an eye on you," she stated simply. She'd read all about what Steve had to go through before and after his procedure for enhancement when she joined SSR, and she herself at some point had undergone some testing too. It was true, she had her suspicions, but he had shown no signs of super human strength or speed, so she was just biding her time to see what it was Zola had done to him. For all she knew, he could have just put some artificial protein or minerals into his body as an experiment. She watched him for a moment, as he just sat there on the edge of her stretcher, looking miserably at the floor.

She sighed finally, moving to sit next to him and tentatively placed a hand on his shoulder, careful to keep her abilities in check. She felt his muscles tense under her hand, and his heart rate seemed to jump ever so slightly but calmed quickly. She couldn't help but be impressed by that.

He finally looked up at her and she removed her hand, resting it on her own lap, offering him an apologetic smile. "You'll be fine."

He gave her a weak smile in response, moving his gaze down to her hands. Suddenly, he reached out to grab her hand and she leapt back to her feet and across the tent a good five feet, a hiss escaping her lips. She felt her fangs resting against her bottom lip as she glared at Bucky.

"Whoa whoa!" Bucky exclaimed, jumping to his own feet and raising his arms up to show he meant no harm. "Sorry! I didn't mean-"

"You need to stop this," she hissed warningly, her eyes drifting to his chest as she analyzed his heart beat. It was beating quickly, although he was already beginning to calm, which she found curious. Most of the time the heart rate would increase as her prey felt threatened by her appearance. Her eyes drifted back to look up at his face again, seeing him analyzing her own reaction it seemed. She straightened again, retracting her fangs and licking her top lip out of force of habit. "Stop trying to get close to me. I'm not just some woman you can try and conquer."

"I wasn't trying-"

She cut him off. "I am a predator. Everything about me is about luring in my prey. My appearance, my voice, the way I move, even my scent. It's to confuse my prey and seduce them. Stop falling for it."

Bucky and Jones stared at each other for a moment before Bucky took a small but deliberate step forward, beginning to lower his hands and Jones narrowed her eyes at him, taking a small step back herself.

"That may be the case, but shoving people away sounds like a sad and lonely life," Bucky said, not taking his eyes off of her. "I'm not falling for it. You're one of our team. Our friend. Friends don't let friends be lonely."

She narrowed her eyes, clenching her jaw. Bucky was infuriating. "Get out Bucky, this conversation is over."

He gave her a wry smile. "For now. You called me Bucky, so I'll take that as a win." She stared at him incredulously as he moved towards the entry to the tent, turning as he reached for the tent flap with a big grin on his face. "Thanks for the chat, Sarah." He opened it, quickly leaving and causing Jones to growl to herself, running a hand over her braid in frustration.

* * *

Together, the Howling Commandos took down nearly all of Johann Schmidt's HYDRA bases spotted about the European continent. At some point between their missions, it was decided by the higher ups, mostly that Senator friend of Rogers', that a film crew would pay them a visit. During this time, Jones was careful to keep herself out of their view, knowing full well that she would draw attention if she did.

She sat back against a tree, a black hood donned over her head to hide her appearance, watching as Dum Dum postured for the camera, Falsworth and Morita laughing at him as he did so. She heard the crunching of foliage under foot behind her and a familiar scent reached her nose. "Bucky."

"Gees, one of these days, I'll sneak up on you and catch you," he groaned, finally walking up beside her with a mischievous grin on his face.

"Never going to happen in this century, Bucky." She gave him a sidelong look, making him sigh before he crouched down beside her. She had been careful not to spend any time alone with him since their conversation in her tent. She couldn't risk his reckless behavior and didn't trust his strength to fight the natural order of things. She was the predator, and in nature's way, he was her prey. "You finished with your close up too, huh?"

He smirked. "What can I say, camera loves a Brooklyn boy," he joked, although Jones caught sight of the bashful look on his face, making her smirk slightly. "You're not getting in on the action?"

She raised an eyebrow in his direction, before glancing back to the camera pointed at Dum Dum, Falsworth and Morita. "The idea is to stay low key when you live forever, Bucky." She felt his whole body stiffen beside her, knowing full well the effect her words could have on mortals. The morality of her life was forever, unless she could be taken from the world by one way. Murder. There was no other way for her to die, her thirst for blood would not allow it. "Relax, its something I've come to terms with a long time ago."

"Sure, but…damn."

She smirked, shaking her head slightly and sighing. "Did I see Steve with a picture of Peggy in his compass earlier?"

Bucky grinned. "Yeah, that was my idea."

"Very charming," she complimented. "Subtle, but charming, now, if he could talk to her normally when face to face, we might be working with fire." Bucky guffawed slightly, before settling down again. "Steve tell you we have our next target?"

"Yeah, Zola." Bucky became quiet and Jones heard his heart rate increase ever so slightly. She glanced sideways at him again, to see him staring off into the distance. He must have noticed her looking at him, because blinked several times before he spoke again. "The plan is pretty daring though."

"And wearing an armoured suit in blue, white and red isn't daring enough already?"

Bucky laughed again, shaking his head with a grin. He settled down, and she felt his body language tense slightly. She glanced sideways, catching a glimpse of his face. "Do you think he will tell them what he did to me?"

That explained his tense body language. He was worried. "Hard to say, I know nothing of Zola other than he being a lacky of Red Skull. Who knows if he even thinks for himself," she answered looking back towards the group.

Bucky sighed, and moved to stand up, patting Jones on the shoulder as he turned to join the others still talking to the camera crew. She continued to watch from the shade of the tree when she heard heavy footsteps approaching from her left.

"Steve." She didn't turn to look as the steps stopped beside her. "Enjoying the limelight?"

"Not at all. I would rather be working right now."

"Well, hearts and minds, Captain. Hearts and minds."

She could just about hear the grimace on Steve's face as he leant against the tree she sat against. "Heh, that's one way to look at it."

"Wars can't be won without the backing of the people. Trust me, I've seen plenty." She could feel Steve's gaze drawn to her and glanced up to look at him. "Don't look so surprised."

"I'm trying not to," he muttered, quickly looking away. "I'm assuming you're avoiding the cameras on purpose?"

"The fewer that know about me, the better," she answered in a nonchalant manner as she watched Bucky and the rest of the men gather together in front of the camera. Steve was silent again as he watched the group. "You're not helping me stay invisible by standing here though. You, somewhat, stand out."

"Oh, right. Sorry."

He began to walk away, headed towards the group. "Oh, and Steve." He turned back to look at Jones expectantly. "The photo in your compass is a nice touch." The affect was instantaneous, the super soldier's ears turning pink and a grimace appearing on his face. Jones grinned mischievously back at Steve as he hurried away.

* * *

The commandos returned to camp to prepare for their next mission, which was expected to be far more dangerous than all their previous ones, on account they had to board a moving train from a completely different mountain.

They had been allowed the opportunity to head into the nearby city for some rest and recreation, and Jones had found herself dragged along too. Much to her chagrin. Steve seemed to sympathise with her though, sticking close and tending to not get involved in the copious amounts of drinking Dum Dum encouraged the rest of the commandos to do.

Their last stop of the day was a bar that all the men proclaimed to be there's and Jones recognized it as the bar where she had visited Steve to accept his offer for her to join his unit. The bar was brimming with soldiers and women, all drinking or eating and extremely loud. She opted to sit at the bar while the unit took a table in the adjacent room, sipping on bourbon for the sake of keeping up appearances. The bar tender was kind enough to not bring attention to the fact that she was only one glass in to the rest of the unit's five, constantly eluding to them that he was topping up her glass at the same time any of the boys came to bar for the next round.

Steve occasionally joined her but was quite often called back to the table when another round was called. She took another sip of bourbon, licking it from her lips instead of actually drinking any. She heard Bucky approaching her, although from his footsteps he seemed somewhat unsteady on his feet. He dropped onto the stool beside her, a drunken grin on his face.

"Sarah! Why are you being broody over here?"

"Because you're loud and obnoxious when you're drunk," she answered matter-of-factly, a mocking smile on her face. He gave her a look of mock offense. "What am I saying, you're loud and obnoxious when you're sober."

He grinned then. "Yeah, I am. You should come and drink with us! Be merry!"

"I am merry. This is me, merry. I'm here to keep an eye on you guys anyway. Go and enjoy yourself." She motioned for him to scram and he grinned at her again, leaning towards her.

"We love you, Sarah! You're the best."

She hmphed slightly, and he got to his feet unsteadily, before making his way back to the table, Jones watching him carefully all the while. Once he was back at the table, she turned back to her glass with a sigh, the slightest of smiles appearing on her lips.

Jones took another sip, before she heard another set of footsteps approach her, but these ones were unfamiliar, although also sounded unsteady. She paid them no mind, opting to focus on her glass.

"Hey, pretty lady. Since you're not interested in those louts, you should come and join us instead," a drawling voice said, as she felt someone drop down onto the stool on the other side of her.

She sighed, rolling her eyes and not looking to them. "I would rather not, thank you."

"Oh, come on, gorgeous, we aren't like those special losers. You'll have fun with me and my buddies."

"Highly doubtful, my friend."

She lifted her glass to her mouth with her right hand, moving to turn herself to the right slightly, to make a point to the unwanted attention, but felt a hand wrap around her left. She turned her head sharply, glaring at the man. She didn't recognize him, he wasn't one of the 107th that she was familiar with, but there had just been a new intake of men to the unit to replace those who had been killed or missing in action.

"Come on, sweet heart, don't turn down a good time. We soldiers know how to treat a gorgeous doll like you," he drawled again, trying to pull her towards him.

She was careful to keep her strength in check, giving him a terse smile, before pulling her hand back towards her chest. "I'm already having a good time, I don't need any extra help for that." He still wasn't releasing her, and her temper was starting to rise. "Let me go, before I make you." She didn't really want to use her abilities in the middle of the bar, but drastic times called for drastic measures.

"Oh, please, you know you want to come with us."

"Like hell I do." She went to pull her hand back with more force, but her focus had been on her assailant and she hadn't heard Bucky approaching her from behind. He stepped in between her and the man holding her hand.

"Hey, pal, the lady said to let her go. I suggest you do it."

"Who the hell are you, to tell me what to do, buddy?"

Jones pulled her hand free, just as several more men appeared behind the man. She could smell the testosterone starting to build in the room. "I suggest you all calm down, go back to your drinks," she commanded, standing up.

"You heard the Lieutenant," Bucky warned pointedly.

"Lieutenant?" the man furrowed his brow, looking her up and down past Bucky. "Not my Lieutenant."

"Actually…" she began to try and appease the situation.

"What's going on, Bucky?" Dum Dum's voice called out from behind Jones.

"Oh god, no," she murmured in annoyance. Dum Dum appeared at her side, looking between Bucky and the group of men now standing in front of them.

"These fellas giving you trouble, Buck?"

"They were bothering Sarah."

"I'm fi-"

"She's with us," Dum Dum said pointedly, also moving to stand in front of her and beside Bucky. She thought it couldn't be possible for him to stick his chest out any further than it usually was, but it seemed she was wrong.

"Come on, give it a rest!" Jones hissed, finally removing her gloves and moving to put her hand on both of their arms.

"What would she want with you losers?"

"What'd you call me?" Dum Dum exclaimed. Before she could make contact with their skin, Dum Dum launched himself forward, punching the guy in the face.

"Shit!" Jones growled as Bucky also leapt forward to punch one of the other men who had reacted to Dum Dum's attack. She looked over her shoulder. "Steve!"

Jones started moving forward, trying to pull the two Howling Commandos out of the brawl, while fending off the 107th men without showing too much of her own abilities. Steve soon joined the fray, also pulling men apart, while Morita and Falsworth worked to hold Dum Dum back. Jones reached up and put her hand on his neck. "SLEEP."

Dum Dum's body slacked, and he drooped into Morita and Falsworth's arms, Dernier hurrying to the door and opening it so they could haul him out.

Steve grabbed Bucky, hauling him backwards before standing between the men, his hand on Bucky's chest to stop him from continuing to punch on with the men. "I order you stop, by command of Captain Steve Rogers!"

The room froze, as the men realized they were standing before Captain America. Jones took the chance to grab Bucky's hand with her own, looking him pointedly in the eye. He tore his eyes from glaring at the rest of the 107th men, his blue eyes staring at her own in awe.

She stared into his eyes for a moment, she had never had the nerve to look him in the eye. It was not something she did much with human's anymore, because there was no need. She could gauge their emotions or reactions from their heartbeats alone, or even their scent and body language.

"Sir, sorry sir," one of the men stammered, staring up at Steve in awe.

"I think you owe the lady an apology, not me," Steve suggested quietly, no malice to his voice, as he removed his hand from Bucky's chest, entrusting him to Jones. Steve folded his arms across his chest and looked pointedly at the man who had been harassing her.

The man looked to Jones, grimacing slightly, before glaring at her and nodding. "Sorry about that."

She finally looked away from Bucky, pulling her hand from his. Her next movements were quick and precise, so much so that everyone, including Steve were left stunned for a few moments. She lashed out, knocking her assailant to the ground easily.

The room was silent, as the soldier tried to scramble to his feet. Jones looked at him pointedly, before she turned and made to leave, her trench coat billowing behind her as she left.

* * *

 **xo**

 **Krayzee**


	9. Ancient

**Afternoon all,**

 **Long time between chapters, I know. Got a bit stuck with the ending of this chapter, so it took me a while to put together something I didn't mind.**

 **Notice I didn't say like or love? Honestly, not my best little bit, but it's alright.**

 **Enjoy**

 **xo**

* * *

 **Chapter 9**

 **Ancient**

Bucky finally snapped to his senses, moving to push past Steve and hurry out after Sarah. Before he could get very far, Steve grabbed his shoulder, looking at him warningly.

"I'm going to check and make sure she's alright," Bucky hissed in a low voice as the crowd around them dispersed. Steve sighed.

"I'm not sure that's what she needs now, besides, she knows how to take care of herself," Steve replied with a hint of concern to his voice.

"Sure, she does, that doesn't mean she should." Steve's eyebrows raised slightly, before he released Bucky with the slightest of nods. Bucky continued out of the bar, past Morita and Falsworth as Dernier and Jonesy tried to rouse Dum Dum, who was still in his comrade's arms.

Bucky burst into the cool night air, looking around quickly. He spotted the billowing tail of Sarah's trench coat disappearing down an alleyway. He hurried after her, trying to keep as quiet as possible. He turned the corner, peering down the alley but seeing nothing ahead of him. He hurried down the alley, looking around.

"Looking for someone?" came a voice behind him. He jumped, wheeling around in surprise, his gaze met with piercing brown eyes. She glared at him. "What do you want, Sgt. Barnes?"

He flinched, there was the slightest of edges to her words and just that cut him deep. "I just wanted to check to make sure you were okay," he said, stepping towards her.

She didn't move. "I'm fine, no thanks to you."

He narrowed his eyes at her slightly. Perhaps it was the alcohol speaking, but he was pretty certain she could have been in a difficult situation if it wasn't for him. "Are you sure about that?"

"I've survived more centuries than you, if you think one drunk soldier and his cronies is problematic, then I'm more concerned for your own well-being," she retorted quietly, taking a step away from him. "And I certainly don't need more young bloods to babysit when they get a skin full of alcohol."

He stared at her, watching as she replaced her gloves to her fingers, remembering the feel of her ice-cold fingers latching onto his own hand. He felt himself getting angry that she didn't at least feel slightly grateful for what he had done for her. She turned to walk away from him, but he reached out and grabbed her by the arm. "And what about you? Using your powers on me? I didn't need your help."

She looked down at his hand on her arm, her top lip curling ever so slightly, as she sneered in disdain. Her brown eyes met his gaze, the red tinge appearing on the outer edge of the brown and only just visible in the weak light of the moon overhead. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, Barnes, but I didn't use those abilities on you. I only used them on Dugan." She pulled her arm from his grasp, her gaze becoming icy as she leaned forward slightly to whisper to him again. "If I had used them, you would know about it." Bucky felt like a bucket of ice had been tipped over him as the tone of her voice seemed to invade every molecule of his being.

She gave the slightest of smirks, seemingly satisfied before straightening again. With that, she spun on her heel and disappeared into the darkness leaving a trail of black mist behind her.

* * *

Jones stopped only once she was in camp, using every shadow to silently return to base. She was angry, not just at the men of her team, but at herself. She knew she should have just let them go on their own, but she had let them pressure her into joining them. 'Team Cohesion' Barnes had said, and she was dumb enough to go along with it.

Jones looked towards one of the tents nearby, seeing Peggy inside, looking over something on the desk in front of her, concern etched in her expression. She moved towards the tent, only making noise once she knew she was within ear shot of the British agent.

Peggy looked up, smiling at Jones once she recognized her, before a look of confusion passed over her features. "Sarah, what are you doing back here already? I thought the boys would be out for hours tonight?"

Jones huffed. "Never should have gone with them. It's a right mess now." She looked down at the desk to avoid the sympathetic and concerned look she was sure Peggy would throw her way. "What are you doing in here at this hour?"

"Just going through the plan one more time," the Englishwoman answered, motioning to the map on the desk. "I can't help but think that this is a bad idea."

Jones raised an eyebrow and smirked. "I'm pretty certain most of the plans we come up with, in general, are a bad idea." Peggy smiled lightly in return, but Jones could tell her heart wasn't in it. She really was concerned. "What's wrong?"

Peggy sighed. "Why would Zola be coming through the mountains, on a train, on his own? Doesn't he and Schmidt usually go everywhere with each other?"

Jones frowned, looking down at the pins on the map. They signified where they were going to launch their attack on the train. It was going to be tough, they were going to have to use a flying fox to actually board the train, as there was no way of getting to that side of the mountain without being seen.

As she considered the map, she realized, Peggy had a point. She had actually considered that herself, at the initial planning session. "It is strange, but it's also possible that with all the pressure our unit has been putting on HYDRA with our attacks, that they're getting desperate. Divide and conquer, right?"

Peggy pressed her lips into a thin line and looked back down at the map thoughtfully. "I suppose."

"Your concerns are fair, Peg, but I'm fairly confident we will be okay," Jones comforted her British counterpart. "I'll be there, to make sure Steve gets through it okay," she teased, smirking.

Peggy turned to look at Jones with a deadpan expression. "Not what I was getting at." Jones just looked at her pointedly, not bothered by her fellow agent's expression. The Brit sighed. "Okay, maybe a little."

They both began to giggle quietly. Jones was about to mention the incident at the bar but stopped when she heard a commotion coming from the base gates. She turned and looked out the tent, her sharp eyes seeing keenly through the darkness.

Morita, Falsworth, Dernier and Jonesy were struggling to carry Dum Dum between them. He was still out cold. She had forgotten to awaken him after the pub fight.

"Oh, crap." She hurried from the tent towards the men, Peggy following quickly behind.

"What happened?" Peggy asked as they approached the men, who now dropped Dum Dum to the ground, collapsing around him, completely spent from the effort of carrying him all the way from the pub.

"This is what I was alluding to before," Jones replied, as she pulled her glove from her hand. She reached down, touching Dum Dum's cheek. "Wake."

His eyes shot open, and he looked around in alarm, before shooting up into a sitting position, and causing Jones to jump back. "Where is he?" he demanded, before looking confused at his surroundings as Jones stepped away from him. "Where am I?"

"You're back at base, Ace. We had to lug your behind all the way back here after you and Barnes picked a fight," Morita retorted, standing up and brushing himself off.

Jones looked at the four other men sympathetically. "Sorry about that, fellas, I got a little heated and forgot to come back to wake him."

"There's nothing to apologize for, this clown had it coming," Falsworth replied, also standing as he nodded towards Dum Dum, before looking seriously back at Jones. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, you guys should get back to your tent, get some sleep, big couple of days ahead of us," she motioned towards their tent with her head. Morita and Jonesy helped Dum Dum back to his feet, and they made their way back to the tent, Jones watching them leave, watching as Morita shoved Dum Dum into a large bush and causing the others to laugh.

"So…" Peggy began, moving to stand in front of Jones. "Care to enlighten me?"

Jones sighed. She really didn't want to, but Peggy was technically the senior agent. "The boys got all chivalrous and tried to defend my honour. Sergeant Barnes and Corporal Dugan in particular. It got rowdy, Dugan got rowdy, I had to do something before it became messy."

Peggy raised an eyebrow, a small smirk playing on her lips. "Oh, and Sergeant Barnes? Did you put him to sleep too?"

"No."

"Really, so how did you stop him?"

"Steve did."

"Really?" Peggy asked pointedly, crossing her arms.

Jones sighed. "I may have diverted his attention away long enough to get him to calm down. I didn't use any powers on him though. As opposed to what he believes."

Peggy's eyes narrowed at Jones' last words. "What he believes?"

"I would rather not talk about this now," she replied, looking out of the base gates. She could hear footsteps in the distance coming from town, and she recognized both sets. "I'm going to head to bed, I'll see you in the morning for briefings." She turned and began to head to her tent.

"Alright, but this conversation isn't finished."

In her mind, it certainly was.

* * *

Bucky didn't sleep much that night, he felt bad, having accused Sarah of using her powers on him, when she had in fact used none. He tossed and turned, the look she gave him as she walked past him in the alley way burned into his mind.

He sighed again, before sitting up and looking across the tent at the other men. They were all asleep, Dum Dum snoring loudly. He swung his legs out of bed, before slipping them into his GPs silently and carefully making his way out of the tent. He walked a few metres to a log that had been set up in the centre of the camp, where most of the soldiers met to relax and chat when they weren't training or working.

"Can't sleep?" came a familiar, friendly voice. Bucky turned around and saw Steve walking towards him, wrapped in a coat.

Bucky smiled. "Yeah."

"What is it? The mission, or the Lieutenant?" Steve asked with a cunning smile, sitting beside him.

He scoffed, rolling his eyes at Steve. "What makes you think it would be the Lieutenant?"

Steve grinned. "The fact that you chose that topic first?"

That was enough to make Bucky falter. He'd walked straight into that trap. He narrowed his eyes at Steve before sighing. He should have known better than to hide the truth from Steve. He was the only person here who he had known all his life. "Yeah, well, maybe it is her."

"What happened?"

Bucky filled Steve in on everything that had happened, not even leaving the part out about how she had grabbed onto him in the bar with her bare hands but not used her powers. Just her touch had been enough to silence him and he found that slightly unnerving. He wasn't sure whether it was the feel of her icy, cold hands or just the shock of her grabbing him.

Steve listened quietly the whole time, not interrupting once, appearing contemplative.

"And I made a fool of myself, accused her of manipulating me with her powers. I'm such an idiot."

Steve chuckled quietly. "Yes, yes you are. Although, I don't think she minds that much."

Bucky frowned at his friend. "Of course she minds, I just accused her of something she didn't do. On top of putting her in a situation that could have ended badly. As first dates go, that ain't great."

Steve chuckled again, patting Bucky on the shoulder. "True, if that was a date you just made me look like I might actually know what I'm doing, but she's old. I mean, she is literally ancient. If something like that truly bothered her that much, after all these years of being around men, don't you think she would be pretty miserable?"

He stared at Steve, considering his friend's words for a moment. "Yeah?"

Steve smiled at Bucky. "I'm sure an apology would be more than what she's gotten from any other men during her time. I would suggest chocolates and flowers, but I get the feeling that's not really her thing."

They both chuckled at the thought of Sarah's face if she was offered chocolate and flowers.

Bucky sighed once they settled down. "Now I've just got to find the time to get her alone."

"Get who alone?" a voice asked from the shadows, making both Steve and Bucky jump to their feet and look around wildly. They turned and saw Sarah step out from the shadows. "Sorry." From the slight smirk on her face, Bucky suspected she wasn't sorry at all, and that she had been listening for quite sometime.

"You've got to stop doing that," Steve said, taking a deep breath to calm himself. Bucky saw Sarah glance at his chest and a grin sweep across her lips, but it was gone just as quickly as it came.

"I'll keep that in mind." She looked from Steve to Bucky, and he felt all his confidence waning. Her brown eyes focused on his, causing him to feel anxious. "You wanted to speak to me?"

Steve coughed slightly, before beginning to step away. "I should get to bed."

Bucky bit his lip, before motioning to Sarah to have a seat on the log. He was mildly surprised when she did, looking back at him expectantly. He sat down beside her, careful to ensure he put some distance between them after their conversation in her tent awhile ago. She looked at him expectantly.

He took a deep breath before speaking, looking down at his hands. "Look, I wanted to apologise for my behavior at the bar. I know I put you in a difficult and dangerous situation, but I saw him grab you and it just made me…" he trailed off as he felt his anger building again at the thought. He clenched his fists, finally daring to look back up at Sarah.

He was surprised to see her looking at him with wide eyes, although they weren't looking at his face, but at his chest. She finally met his gaze after a few seconds had passed. "Did that really make you that angry?" she asked in surprise.

He nodded. "Of course. You're one of us, and I wanted to protect you. I may have forgotten for the moment that you're not some helpless dame."

She seemed stunned for a moment, before the slightest of grins threatened to touch the corners of her lips. "Well, I suppose I'm grateful that your protective instincts apply to me too, but how about in future, you lay off the alcohol and let me handle it?"

Bucky chuckled, looking back down at his hands again, relieved that Steve was right, and she was very forgiving. "I can't promise the alcohol thing, but I'll try and make an effort to leave any trouble like that to you next time."

They were quiet for a few moments, the only sounds heard were explosions somewhere off at the battlefront, and the breeze moving through the treetops. "Thanks, Bucky"

He looked up at her in surprise, she was still hard pressed to use his nickname, so to hear her say it to him then caught him off guard. "What was that?"

She sighed and rolled her eyes, before standing up. "Sgt Barnes, go to bed. I expect you to report on time to briefing or I will come and kick your ass out of bed myself."

Bucky grinned as he stood up too. "Yes, ma'am."

* * *

 **xo**

 **Krayzee**


	10. Cold

**New day, new chapter.**

 **Enjoy**

 **xo**

* * *

 **Chapter 10**

 **Cold**

Steve looked over his shoulder at the Howling Commandos as they carefully picked their way along a small ledge over a plummeting canyon in the Austrian Alps. This was, unfortunately, the only way they were going to be able to board the fast train that Zola was using.

Directly behind him was Bucky, and behind him was Jones. She seemed to be having the least problems with traversing the narrow ledge.

The cold was seeping through their uniforms, as they clung by just their fingertips to the icy cold wall of the mountain they were working their way around. Even through his gloves, Steve could feel the icy cold of the stone.

"How is it that you don't even seem to be struggling with this, L-T?" Dum Dum muttered through chattering teeth that even Steve could hear, even though they were opposite ends of the file.

"You forget, I'm essentially dead, I can't feel anything," she replied, completely non-plussed by the topic.

"Gees, way to put a downer on the mood, Sarah," Bucky jeered, looking at her. Before Steve could tell them to change the subject, Bucky's foot must have slipped from the ledge, as he began to fall. Steve moved to grab him, but missed.

"Bucky!" Steve shouted, watching as Bucky tried to cling to a narrow ridge below the ledge they were standing on. His gloved fingers began to slip on the icy rock, and he began to fall again. Steve tried to lean down and reach Bucky, his own hand beginning to slip on the cold stone of the ledge, but he felt a strong hand grab him roughly and pull him back up.

There was a black blur, and suddenly Jones was hanging onto the ledge by one hand, her other hand holding onto Bucky by the back of his jacket. "Gees Sarge, I hope your zippers are good quality," she grunted as she began to hoist him back up towards the ledge.

Steve reached down and grabbed Bucky's outstretched hand, lifting him back up to stand on the ledge beside him, while Morita reached down and helped Jones up.

"You two okay?" Steve asked, feeling relieved as he gave a quick Bucky a once over.

"I will be if you could hurry up!" Jones urged, motioning for Steve to keep going. Bucky gave a curt nod, his lips turning blue in the icy, cold blast of wind that swirled around them. He began moving again, with more urgency in an effort to get them to their landing point and out of the wind.

* * *

Once they were there, Jones checked over everyone for injuries, particularly Bucky, while Steve checked their target area through his binoculars. He could hear the pair murmuring to each other.

"You feeling okay, Bucky?" she asked quietly, checking his pulse with her fingers, although Steve was pretty certain she didn't need to use her fingers. He had seen her look at their chests enough to know that she could hear their heart beats quite easily from a few metres away.

"I'm just cold, care to warm me up?" he joked back just as quietly. Steve could practically hear the eye roll Jones elicited, even with her back to him.

"Probably not the best person to ask for that," she muttered dryly.

"Please, you're not that cold hearted, are you?" Bucky teased as she put her glove back onto her hand and began to pick up her things.

"No, I'm silent hearted, it's dead in there," she responded bluntly, standing up and turning to walk away. She caught Steve looking at her, and she smirked at him, before she strode towards Gabe. She was messing with Bucky's head. Although, Steve wondered if what she had said was true, and her heart was really silent. He wasn't sure he was game enough to ask her.

Steve glanced back at Bucky, he looked completely dumbfounded and seemed to be completely speechless. He walked over to his friend, shaking his head. "I didn't mean that in the literal sense."

"Not having much luck, are you, Buck?"

"I am literally turning into you," Bucky replied, feigning devastation.

Steve huffed a quiet laugh out, before turning his attention to the ravine between them and the train line. The plan was that they would use a zipline to make their way over the ravine to the train as it passed them by on the adjacent mountain. From there, they would fight off any resistance and take Zola. They had hoped for very little resistance, but they didn't know for certain what they were going to be up against.

Gabe pulled out a headset and tinkered with a small radio set he carried, appearing to listen intently to whatever conversation he was eavesdropping on. They had a little while until the train was due into their ambush target indication, so his men began to either keep watch over different quadrants around the mountains, listen in to the radio chatter with Gabe, or quietly chat amongst themselves.

Steve looked back to Lieutenant Jones, who was now moving back towards him, her footsteps silent even though the snow crunched under everyone else's boots. "How is everyone?"

"Fine, considering. Sarge could use to lose a few pounds," she replied as Bucky turned to look at her too. Steve couldn't help but chuckle as the subject matter threw her a dirty look.

"Thanks, Sarah, way to boost a guy's self-esteem," he retorted.

"I was trying to bring it down a peg," she muttered with a shrug of her shoulders that was barely visible.

"Alright, you two. We all remember the plan?" Steve interjected, knowing he needed to stop their banter before they got carried away again.

It seemed since their tiff in the bar the other night, and their conversation in the dead of night afterwards, Jones and Bucky had gotten a little more comfortable with each other. She was far less stiff around him, even calling him Sarge when she was around the rest of the men, although he had heard her call him 'Bucky' when she thought no one else could hear her.

The plan was that he, the Lieutenant, Bucky and Gabe would zipline across, Gabe would stay on top of the train as a look out and slowly make his way to the engine of the train, while the other three would pick their way through the carriages and clear out the HYDRA forces to make sure it was safe.

Steve glanced sideways at Bucky as he looked over the ravine towards the train line. "Remember when I made you ride the Cyclone at Coney Island?" Bucky asked sounding nervous.

The memory wasn't one Steve could forget. "Yeah, and I threw up?"

Bucky smirked, giving Steve a sidelong look. "This isn't payback, is it?" he asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked at Steve.

Steve chuckled. "Now why would I do that?"

Gabe suddenly looked over to Steve eagerly. "We were right. Dr. Zola's on the train. HYDRA dispatcher gave him permission to open up the throttle. Wherever he's going, they must need him bad."

Their dark-haired Lieutenant stood up straighter, turning to look around the target mountain, her eyes narrowing as she seemed to spot or sense something in the distance. "Train."

It appeared around the side of the mountain a few seconds later, charging at great speed along the train line. Bucky and Steve exchanged a look between each other, it was the look they always shared before a mission, or even when they were kids getting into trouble. It signified that they had each other's back.

"Let's get going, because they're moving like the devil," Falsworth called out, quickly testing the zipline to ensure it was secure.

The four that were making the trip across began to move, grabbing their carabiners and moving to attach themselves to the zipline, Steve securing his shield to his back.

He went to move to the front of the column. "We only got about a 10-second window. You miss that window, we're bugs on a windshield."

"Which is why I'm going first," Jones interjected, quickly moving to stand in front of him. "I don't bruise as easily," she said looking at him pointedly, the slightest of smirks on her face, before attaching her carabiner to the line. "Ready when you are, Falsworth."

"Mind the gap," the Brit responded winking at Jones as she made to launch.

"Take it easy, Sarah," Bucky shouted past Steve, watching as she lunged forward and began speeding down the line. She managed to turn her body, narrowing her eyes at Bucky in her usual 'Don't call me that' manner. "I think she likes me."

"Really, that's what you got from that?" Steve asked incredulously.

"Better get moving, bugs!" Dum Dum called, watching as Jones released her carabiner and landed easily on top of the train.

" _Maintenant!"_ Dernier shouted, motioning for the remaining Howling Commandos to move. The three remaining team members launched onto the zipline, racing down the line with speed.

Steve could feel the chilled air whip across his face, blasting him to his core. He released his carabiner and made a rough landing on top of the train. Bucky was behind him and also landed, but skidded slightly towards the edge. Steve made to move to try and catch him, but needn't have bothered, because in the blink of an eye a black blur was there, catching him easily and hoisting him onto the roof of the train.

"Klutz," she muttered, moving to grab a handgun from her thigh holster.

"I like you too, doll," Bucky jeered, smirking at her as she rolled her eyes and looked to Steve.

"You guys know what to do," Steve said, ignoring their banter. "Gabe, make your way to the engine, we'll clear out the rest of the train and cause a distraction."

They all nodded, Bucky and Steve dropping down onto the gangway connection of the carriage they were currently on, while Jones and Gabe made their way onto the next one. Steve and Bucky forced their way inside the carriage, cautiously looking around. Steve pulled his shield from his back, while he heard Bucky flick off the safety on his weapon.

They shared a look as they moved through. They were both uneasy by the lack of people onboard. They had expected SOME resistance, not next to nothing.

As Steve made to move through to the next compartment of the carriage, passing through the doorway to the next carriage, there was suddenly the sound of a door closing. He looked back in alarm to see that the door had slid shut and gun shots rang out from the previous compartment.

"Bucky!" he shouted. Bucky had ducked behind cover as two HYDRA soldier's began firing on him. Steve began hammering at the door with his shield, but stopped when he heard heavy footsteps behind him. He turned and saw a heavily armoured soldier appear through the opposite doorway, carrying a HYDRA weapon. Steve quickly fired his gun at the soldier, but the bullets bounced off his armour harmlessly. Their weapons were going to be useless in this fight. The soldier fired from what appeared to be two cannons strapped to his arms.

The energy blast just missed him, causing stacks of crates to be blown to pieces as Steve rolled away, looking back at the carnage left behind by the blast. He made a run for the other side of a shelf and ducked again as another blast blew past him, before leaping up and lunging onto the wall. He threw his shield, causing it to richochet off the wall across from him and hit the soldier from behind, throwing him off balance.

Steve kept up the pace, charging at the soldier as he tried to steady himself while the shield bounced back towards Steve, who caught it easily. He lunged forwards at the soldier before he could recover, hitting his with the shield and sending him flying backwards. He slid to the ground, laying still.

Steve turned and ran back towards the other compartment, peering through the window to the other. Bucky was crouched down behind a stack of crates, in an effort to avoid the blasts being fired by the soldier at the other end. He peered around the corner of the crate, firing again, only for his weapon to stop. He was out of bullets. He glanced back up at the window, seeing Steve and offering a resigned smirk.

That didn't go down well with Steve. He had come close to losing his best friend once already, he didn't want to lose him again when he was right there with him. Using his shield to disengage the lock on the door, he rushed through, throwing his gun to Bucky as he used his shield to cover himself from the blast as the HYDRA soldier noticed him, opening fire at Steve. The distraction was all Bucky needed, the sharp shooter taking out the soldier with ease.

They both stood up, looking over the carnage in front of them, before glancing at each other.

"I had him on the ropes," Bucky muttered, shrugging in a nonchalant manner, like he always did when he was trying to play something off as nothing serious.

Steve smirked at his best friend. "I know you did."

Suddenly, there was a sound from behind them, and the two whirled around, Bucky with his gun raised and Steve with his shield.

Before either could react and move, two blasts were fired at them, the soldier Steve had been fighting in the other compartment had regained consciousness. Steve was quick to step in front of Bucky, taking the full brunt of the blast on his shield. They were both knocked wide, Steve dropping his shield in the process as he was flung backwards into the wall of the compartment. The blast richocheted off the shield, blasting a hole into the side of the carriage, causing an icy blast of wind to blow through the compartment, snow and debris blowing in onto them.

Bucky was first to recover, quickly moving to grab the shield that had fallen to the ground near him. He returned fire at the soldier as Steve tried to get his bearings and get back to his feet, but the bullets bounced harmlessly off the soldier's armour. Steve looked up at the HYDRA soldier, to find he was gearing up to fire again.

"Watch out!" came a shout from above them, but it was too late. The blast was fired as a dark mist appeared behind the soldier and a deep red line was cut along his neck.

The blast seemed to travel in slow motion as Steve watched it and tried to get to Bucky in time. It ripped through the compartment, destroying everything in its path, reaching Bucky as he lifted the shield to try and protect himself from the blast.

It hit the shield squarely, throwing Bucky back and blowing him back into the broken part of the wall. Bucky managed to grab a hold of a railing on the broken piece of carriage wall, clinging for dear life.

"Bucky! Hold on!" Steve shouted, grabbing hold of a metal bar for support and trying to stretch out to reach his friend. He heard running footsteps and Jones appeared at his side. "Can you mist him?"

"I still need to have solid ground beneath me to shadow shift," she replied hastily, trying to run to the other side of the gap to see if she could reach him from there, straining to try and stretch herself as far as she could in an effort to reach him. "I can't get too close or I'll bring the whole wall down with him on it."

"Come on, Bucky, we can do this," Steve shouted to him, as Bucky tried to reach for him. They were nearly able to touch, Steve just feeling the tips of Bucky's finger tips as the icy wind blasted them. Suddenly, there was a creaking sound and the bar Bucky was holding buckled under his weight. "Bucky!"

Bucky looked desperate as he tried to make a final grab for Steve, but the bar finally gave way. Bucky screamed as he plummeted into the ravine.

"BUCKY!" both Steve and Jones screamed in horror, although neither heard the other, only hearing Bucky's yells as he fell.

* * *

Sarah picked her way through the debris of London. The German's had bombed the city to hell. Such a shame too, she didn't dislike the place.

After their mission in the Austrian Alps, they were returned to headquarters to present their findings with Colonel Phillips to the higher ups. They discussed what they had found, but not what they had lost on that mission.

She wasn't sure why losing Bucky seemed to be affecting her so much. Perhaps it was because for the first time she really felt like she was apart of a family. A family of misfits, but a family all the same. She wondered if that was the case, or just an excuse she was using to make herself feel better. Or perhaps it was the fact that she had seen the look on his face as he fell, watching him disappear into the mist of the ravine and hearing his screams all the way down.

Maybe the truth was that she was getting sick to death of people dying around her. Maybe she should just find someone to end it all for her.

As she walked along the quiet London street, the recorded warning playing quietly every few minutes, warning residents to stay indoors during the black out period, she caught a whiff of a familiar scent on the breeze. It stood out to her, because firstly, everything around her smelt charred and burnt. This was floral, and slightly tainted with the smell of gun powder.

Peggy.

She hadn't had a chance to speak to Peggy after the mission, nor once they got to headquarters. Or perhaps she hadn't wanted to. She had brought back Peggy's beloved Captain Rogers, but not his best friend. That in itself was going to leave scars on the man.

She moved to follow the scent, and realized that Peggy wasn't alone. Steve was with her, she could smell him.

Sarah debated whether to continue on her current course, not wanting to disturb anything intimate that might finally be happening. Then again, Peggy wasn't the type for poor taste in timing, and in Sarah's mind…this was not the time.

She found the destroyed foundations of a pub, walking through the gaping hole in the wall. Steve was sitting at a table, a bottle of Bucky's favourite whiskey open on the table. She knew this, because she recalled the fragrance of the alcohol on him a few times when he had come back from some R&R with the rest of the unit. Peggy stood a little away from Steve, looking over at him sadly.

"You did everything you could. Did you believe in your friend? Did you respect him?" Steve looked at her with a small smile on his face as he seemed to remember his friend. "Then stop blaming yourself. Allow Barnes the dignity of his choice. He damn well must have thought you were worth it." They were quiet for a moment as Steve looked down at the glass in his hand, he seemed to absorb her scolding.

"I'm goin' after Schmidt. I'm not gonna stop till all of Hydra is dead or captured," Steve said resolutely, not looking up from his glass.

Sarah moved towards them, stepping a little heavier and kicking a piece of debris so as to make her presence known. Peggy and Steve both turned to look at her, Peggy offering a knowing smile at her.

"You won't be alone," Peggy murmured, nodding towards Sarah.

* * *

 **xo**

 **Krayzee**


	11. Somewhere in the Middle

**G'day!**

 **So, this is the last chapter of Silent Heart.**

 **I'll be continuing the story in a new fic, called 'Bleeding Heart'**

 **Keep an eye out for it!**

 **Enjoy**

 **xo**

* * *

 **Chapter 11**

 **Somewhere in the Middle**

Steve looked across at Sarah as she strapped a rifle to her back, knives to her thighs and then tucked another one into her boot.

"You sure you've got enough?" he asked her, raising an eyebrow.

"No, I don't," she replied wryly, before raising her hands and extending her fingers. Her nails began to grow a good inch and her canines poked out from beneath top lip. "That's what these suckers are for."

The other men had stopped to listen into their conversation. "I don't know whether to be turned on or off…" Dum Dum muttered as Steve watched her eye twitch at Dum Dum's words.

"Well, safe to say I am NOT turned on right now," she retorted making a gagging face. Steve couldn't help but chuckle slightly at that.

Sarah had come out of her shell a lot more since the mission on the train. So much so, he couldn't help but think of her by her first name now. Bucky had always used it on her, but Steve had always tried to maintain the line of hierarchy between them.

But now, he felt that what they had experienced together on the train, losing Bucky, made that line irrelevant. Only she knew what it was like in that moment, losing Bucky. While it may not have affected her in the same manner it had affected him, she still saw it with her own two eyes.

He would be lying if he said that he didn't sometimes wonder if perhaps she could have saved him. If perhaps she could have misted to him and pulled him back on board the train, but he would remind himself of the sacrifice she made that exposed her true nature to their team. Putting her own body on the line to save them.

She tossed her braid over her shoulder before turning to look at Steve. Her teeth and nails returned to normal as she raised her eyebrows at him. "You okay, Captain?"

"Fine, Lieutenant." He smiled at her, but it didn't seem to set her at ease, and she furrowed her eyebrows at him, but turned away to prepare more gear for the mission.

Sarah misted into the shadows of the base, careful to remain close to the walls. Even in her mist form, she knew she could seem out of place if she wasn't careful.

She carefully floated along the corners of the corridor of the castle that was the front for the base, which extended deep into the mountainside below the structure. Every now and then, she would pass by a soldier, but they paid no mind to her.

If more than one was walking past her, they were often chattering away in German. Luckily, she spoke many languages, including German. She soon translated that Steve was being held in Schmidt's personal laboratory at the furthest side of the base. She quickly made her way in the general direction, looking for any more clues.

She soon found Steve's scent, beginning to follow it until she came across a heavily guarded door. She faltered slightly, she could either risk slipping past them, or save herself, and the others, some time later and take them out now.

She checked around the walls of the corridor around the door, there was no sign of any monitoring system, so she opted to save herself some time. She concentrated, before forcing the mist to reform into her body shape in between the two soldiers. She was quick to incapacitate them, before leaning carefully against the door to listen in.

She heard Schmidt, drawling on about American arrogance, before hearing a thump and she could just make out Steve's heart rate as it picked up. That was enough confirmation for her, and she slipped back into mist form, slipping through the slightest gaps around the door.

She floated over to rest beneath a work bench where she had a clear view of both Steve and Schmidt. Schmidt continued to rant and rave about genius and his greatness, but Sarah focused on Steve.

Steve was restrained by a set of cuffs, another technology that seemed far beyond their time from first appearance. Schmidt hit Steve again, forcing him onto his hands and knees. She had to force down her instinct to rush to Steve's aid. He had a plan, and he had been adamant they stick to it.

She saw Steve's gaze flick to her direction, and the slightest of smirks appear on his face. He knew she was there.

He stood up again, looking Schmidt in the eye. "I can do this all day."

Schmidt smirked at Steve. "Oh, of course you can." He moved towards the bench Sarah was hiding under, taking something from it before walking back towards Steve. "Of course. But unfortunately, I am on a tight schedule." He pointed a pistol at Steve's head, and Sarah took that as her cue. She sped out from beneath the bench, returning to her normal form and threw a knife at Schmidt's hand.

Steve smirked. "So am I!"

The knife embedded into Schmidt's hand and the bullet went wide of Steve as he dove out of the way. As Schmidt turned to look at Sarah, there was a crash of glass breaking, and the team of Howling Commandos smashed through the lab windows, rappelling into the lab.

Schmidt turned his weapon to fire on Sarah, but she misted away again, reappearing in front of Steve, facing Schmidt, as he fired where she had previously been standing, she pulled her rifle from her back and began to fire at him.

"Jones, let me loose!" Steve shouted as HYDRA soldiers ran into the room from the door she had slipped through, moving to cover Schmidt. The Howling Commandos returned fire on them as Schmidt ran out of the room while Sarah turned and made quick work of the device being used to restrain Steve, breaking the cuff with one hand and releasing him. He shot to his feet, moving to pursue Schmidt. "Jones, let's go!"

She moved to follow.

"Rogers!" Falsworth shouted as they picked their way between fights to get to the door. Steve turned to look at their British counterpart. "You might need this!" He tossed Steve's shield towards them.

"Thanks!" Steve shouted as he easily caught it, before both sprinted from the room.

* * *

Steve and Sarah ran through the base in pursuit of Schmidt. Annoyingly, soldiers kept getting between them and him.

At one point, he found himself separated from Sarah as she stopped to take care of a group of soldiers who tried to stop them.

He rounded the corner and was faced with a heavily armoured soldier, dressed similarly to the soldier who had caused Bucky to plunge to his death. Two jets of fire streamed from the weapons in his hand, causing Steve to duck backwards to try and hide from the flames. He tried to look past his shield for a clear shot at the soldier, but he fired more flames towards Steve's hiding spot.

Just as Steve looked to have no where left to hide as the soldier moved closer towards him, two gunshots rang out and the soldier fell to the ground.

Steve looked around his shield in surprise, to find Peggy standing at the other side of the corridor, her gun raised as she looked down at the dead soldier with disdain. She looked up at Steve as he moved closer to her.

"You're late," he said looking at her wryly.

She raised her eyebrows at him pointedly, a bashful smile gracing her lips. There was silence between them as they stared at each other for a moment. Sarah sprinted past, nothing more than a black blur to them, ignoring the pair as she continued after Schmidt, but her appearance was enough to rouse Peggy from their moment.

"Weren't you about to…?" she motioned in the direction that Sarah had sprinted off.

"ANY TIME CAP!" Sarah could be heard shouting from further down the corridor.

"Right," he smiled awkwardly, before turning and sprinting after Sarah and Schmidt. The last thing he wanted was for Sarah to get cornered with Schmidt on her own.

Schmidt and Sarah were well ahead of him, running into the hangar housing a huge aircraft with several engines powering it. The engines were already running as Schmidt hurried up the ramp into the aircraft.

Steve thought Sarah might slow, but she sped up, running onto the aircraft after him. He wasn't going to make it, as the ramp began to close, and the aircraft began to move. He saw Sarah look over her shoulder, before several soldiers lunged at her.

"Sarah!" he shouted, trying to catch up to the aircraft, but it was no use. It began to pick up speed.

Suddenly, he heard an engine rev behind him, and he turned to look over his shoulder as he ran, seeing a large car speeding towards him. Colonel Phillips was driving, with Peggy in the rear seat.

He leapt aboard the side skirt, clinging to the passenger door as Colonel Phillips accelerated to catch up to the aircraft.

"Keep it steady!" Steve shouted, as he got closer to the aircraft. One of the engine rotors was edging extremely close to the car, and suddenly, it connected. Colonel Phillips swerved slightly, in an effort to try and avoid the blades, causing Steve to hold on even tighter. He slung his shield onto his back, prepping to dive onto the landing gear of the aircraft as they got closer.

"Wait!" Peggy shouted, calling Steve's attention to her. He looked down at her in confusion, as she reached up, grabbing him roughly by the front of his uniform and pulling him towards her. He was confused, but not as confused as he was when her lips crashed onto his. The kiss lasted only a few seconds, but it was enough to cause Steve to freeze. When she pulled away, she smiled at him. "Go get him."

Steve glanced over at Colonel Phillips, not only confused by the fact Peggy had just kissed him, and possibly at the worst time, but she had also done it in front of their highest superior officer.

Colonel Phillips, who was focusing on keeping the car steady, glanced sideways at Steve, before furrowing his brow. "I'm not kissin' ya!" he shouted. It was enough to shake Steve from his stupor and he turned back to the job at hand.

The Colonel accelerated the car one more time and it surged forwards, closer to the landing gear. Steve took the opportunity to dive across, clinging to the landing gear with all his might. The frigid air rushed past him, making it harder for him to get his grip on the landing gear, and his hands began to slip.

Suddenly, it was like he was surrounded by darkness, like his body was being pulled apart and then shattered into a million tiny pieces.

And then, just as suddenly as it had happened, it was like he was back to normal, except he was dropped onto his hands and knees on the cold floor of the aircraft.

He pushed himself up, looking around in confusion. Sarah was standing in front of him, leaning down with her hands on her knees, breathing deeply. "That is a lot harder when you're towing a second person."

"Did you-?" Steve asked, looking at her incredulously.

"No time to discuss it, I've taken care of a couple of soldiers, but there's something you're going to want to see. The Valkyrie isn't necessarily the only threat," she said, moving further into the aircraft. He got to his feet and looked around, seeing several soldier's bodies lying around the aircraft. She had not been merciful.

He turned and followed her out of the compartment they were in and into the next one. Here were several smaller aircraft, each with a city name on them. _Boston, Chicago, New York._

She lowered herself to hide behind some crates. "Plan?"

"Stop the smaller aircraft, then we go for Schmidt."

"You got it." Within seconds, she had disappeared and then reappeared atop one of the aircraft. She punched at the pilot who was going through his preflight checks.

Steve turned and ran towards another, but the pilot of the third aircraft spotted him and disengaged his aircraft. It dropped out of the Valkyrie. He threw his shield at the second pilot, ricocheting it off the wall of the Valkyrie, before knocking him out. The shield bounced back to him and he hastily turned his attention to the bay where the third aircraft had launched.

"I've got this," Sarah shouted as she sprinted towards him, having disposed of the first pilot, she ran towards the bay doors.

"Wait!" he shouted, holding his arm out. "Think it through." She skidded to a halt and looked out to where the aircraft was starting to bank and turn away from the Valkyrie.

"Thought about it, I'll take care of this, you stop Schmidt, I figure we will cross paths again somewhere in the middle."

"And if we don't?"

"It's been great, Captain."

Steve narrowed his eyes at her, but she only blinked, patting him on the arm, before she let herself fall forwards out of the bay doors, disappearing into the clouds below.

Steve stood staring out the gaping doors for a moment, until he heard an explosion from somewhere behind the Valkyrie. She had stopped it. At what cost? He would never know.

* * *

Steve made his way towards the cockpit cautiously, unsure as to what to expect. He found Schmidt standing by the pilot's seat, his eyes focused on the horizon. Behind him, in a central console, was the Tesseract, what he had been sent to try and retrieve to prevent Schmidt from making any more weapons. Schmidt turned, eyes narrowing on Steve.

"You don't give up, do you?"

"Nope!" Steve ran towards Schmidt, moving to strike him with his shield. Schmidt was able to fend him off, punching back at him, only for Steve to block his strike. He swept a foot down to knock Schmidt off his feet, before trying to bring his shield down onto the HYDRA leader.

Schmidt was able to fight him off, knocking him to the side, and causing him to crash up against the aircraft control console. Schmidt pulled a gun from his waist, firing it at Steve, but he dodged it and it struck the control panel, causing black smoke to rise.

The HYRDA leader kept his weapon trained on Steve. "You could have the power of the gods! Yet you wear a flag on your chest and think you fight a battle of nations! I have seen the future, Captain! There are no flags!"

"Not my future!" Schmidt fired his weapon again, but Steve was already moving. He ducked, and the blast whizzed by his head, as he flung his shield in Schmidt's direction. The shield hit Schmidt squarely in the chest, knocking him back into the cube's console. The cube seemed to react to the contact, beginning to shimmer like it was powering up.

"What have you done?" Schmidt demanded. He reached for the cube, picking it up and analyzing it. The cube began to brighten, light streaming from all its sides. A window seemed to open, displaying nothing but pitch blackness that resembled space. "No." Schmidt breathed, before screaming as he was engulfed in the light from the cube and seemed to be lifted into nothing. The cube dropped to the ground, before burning a hole in the bottom of the aircraft and falling through to the sea below.

Steve rushed forward to the console, taking over the controls. He looked around the console, trying to figure out how to take control. He noticed a screen read "New York City" and he immediately began to worry. Obviously, they were still in trouble.

He tried the radio. "Come in. This is Captain Rogers. Do you read me?"

"Captain Rogers, what is your…" came Morita's voice in response, but he was cut off.

"Steve, is that you? Are you alright?" came Peggy's voice. Her voice was panicked, but he was glad to hear it. He thought of Sarah and wondered what had happened to her.

"Peggy! Schmidt's dead. Sarah jumped off the Valkyrie and went after one of the single bombers, I don't know what happened to her."

It was silent over the radio for a moment. He was sure Peggy was trying to come to terms with Sarah's actions. "What about the plane?" Peggy pressed.

He looked at the controls again. Much of it was in German, and some of it was smoking. "That's a little bit tougher to explain."

"Give me your coordinates, I'll find you a safe landing site," she directed, and he could hear the hope in her voice. He looked around at the controls again, and the screen that read _New York City_.

"There's not going to be a safe landing. But I can try and force it down," he said resolutely. He knew what he had to do.

"I'll get Howard on the line, he'll know what to do," Peggy offered, still sounding hopeful, although there was an edge of desperation to her tone.

"There's not enough time. This thing's moving too fast and it's heading for New York." He paused momentarily. "I gotta put her in the water," he said finally.

"Please, don't do this. We have time. We can work it out," Peggy begged. Her voice broke his heart. He had never heard the British agent sound so desperate as she did just then.

He began to explain. "Right now, I'm in the middle of nowhere. If I wait any longer a lot of people are gonna die." He paused and there was silence from the other end of the radio. "Peggy, this is my choice." He began to force the plane to nose-dive. Still, she didn't answer. "Peggy?"

"I'm here," she responded, although her voice sounded strained.

"I'm gonna need a rain check on that dance."

"Alright. A week, next Saturday, at the Stork Club," she replied, sniffling slightly.

"You got it."

"Eight o'clock on the dot. Don't you dare be late. Understood?" she warned.

Steve gave a resigned chuckle, before a thought occurred to him. "You know, I still don't know how to dance."

"I'll show you how. Just be there."

He smiled, as he watched the clouds part and the water begin to move closer and closer towards them. "We'll have the band play somethin' slow. I'd hate to step on your…

"Steve? Steve? Steve?"

* * *

 **See you at the next story 'Bleeding Heart' soon!**

 **xo**

 **Krayzee**


End file.
